From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Wed Aug 13 09:03:08 2014 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 09:03:08 +1000 Subject: [ASA] ATNF telescope availability - update on the impact of funding reductions Message-ID: <0E11E821-4EF5-409B-BD63-DBAE7966B005@sydney.edu.au> The direction CSIRO will take in response to the recent funding reduction for radio astronomy is becoming clearer. There will be impacts to the availability of ATNF facilities both immediately and in the longer term. However, consistent with our priorities and those of the broader astronomy community, we will continue to deliver on our ASKAP and SKA programs to the best of our abilities, and will make every effort to ensure that these are successful. At the annual meeting of the Astronomical Society of Australia on 23 July I hosted an ATNF Town Hall meeting focussing on the impact of the 2014-15 budget on CSIRO's radio astronomy activity - the presentation is available at http://www.atnf.csiro.au/news/files/ATNF-TownHall-ASA2014.pdf > From 1 October, we will no longer offer on-site observing with the ATCA: observing from the Science Operations Centre in Marsfield, Sydney, will be supported and remote operation from other locations will be available for suitably experienced users. From the same date we will significantly reduce or eliminate routine receiver changes on the Parkes Telescope. We anticipate that only the 10/50cm and the HI multibeam receiver will be available for the October 2014 - March 2015 semester and possibly for the April - September 2015 semester. We recognise that this limits Parkes and Long Baseline Array projects and affects some proposals already submitted for the October semester. Options to support a reduced set of higher frequency VLBI observations including Parkes are still being considered. CSIRO support of Mopra is expected to cease after the 2015 millimetre season (i.e. after September 2015). Community access to the Mopra Telescope in winter 2015 is not yet resolved. CSIRO has expressed its willingness to explore options for the operation of Mopra beyond the winter 2015 season with external partners. We will seek to automate ATCA observing with a view to implementing this over time, possibly starting in the April 2015 semester. CSIRO will evaluate the impacts of other possible changes such as ceasing ATCA observing in one or more of the 3, 7, 12 mm bands, and increasing the fraction of large projects on the ATCA. We welcome community input as we consider the way forward. If the decision is taken to implement such changes we will aim to provide the community with appropriate notice. In early September we will provide more detail to the user community of the specific impacts on the availability of ATNF capabilities and observing for the coming semester, together with the release of the observing schedules for Parkes, the ATCA, Mopra and the LBA. Lewis Ball, Director, CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR JOHN O?BYRNE Associate Head (Teaching & Learning), School of Physics Associate Dean (Standards), Faculty of Science Secretary, Astronomical Society of Australia Inc. Sydney Institute for Astronomy School of Physics | Faculty of Science THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Rm 205, Physics Building A28 | alternate: Rm 222, 44-70 Rosehill St Redfern H90 (see map) Postal address: School of Physics | The University of Sydney | NSW | Australia | 2006 T +61 2 9351 3184 | F +61 2 9351 7726 E john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au | W http://sydney.edu.au/science/people/john.obyrne CRICOS 00026A This email plus any attachments to it are confidential. Any unauthorised use is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error, please delete it and any attachments. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This email uses 100% recycled words and ideas. Do you really need to print it? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From andrew.hopkins at aao.gov.au Wed Aug 13 10:29:10 2014 From: andrew.hopkins at aao.gov.au (Andrew Hopkins) Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 10:29:10 +1000 Subject: [ASA] PASA Editor-in-Chief Call for Applications Message-ID: <53EAB156.2040504@aao.gov.au> ============================================ PASA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF - CALL FOR APPLICATIONS ============================================ The Astronomical Society of Australia (ASA) calls for applications for an Editor-in-Chief for Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia (PASA), for a three-year term commencing on 1 January 2015. Applications can be made by sending a statement of suitability for the position, a vision for the journal and a CV to the ASA President, Andrew Hopkins (ahopkins at aao.gov.au), by 30 Sep 2014. Full details are athttp://sifa.org.au/PASA-EIC. About the Journal ------------------ PASA is an ISI-listed, fully-refereed journal, founded in 1967. PASA publishes new and significant research in all areas of astronomy and astrophysics. PASA also maintains its heritage of publishing results on southern hemisphere astronomy and on astronomy with Australian facilities. PASA publishes research papers, review papers and special series on topical issues, making use of expert international reviewers and an experienced Editorial Board. As an electronic-only journal, PASA publishes paper by paper, ensuring a rapid publication rate. There are no page charges. PASA's Editorial Board approve a certain number of papers per year to be made available without a paywall or subscription to the journal. All papers are indexed by the NASA ADS database; the ISI impact factor for PASA is currently 2.3. PASA is published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the ASA. Further information on PASA is athttp://journals.cambridge.org/PASA. The PASA Editor-in-Chief ------------------------ PASA maintains an Editorial Board of seven members, consisting of an Editor-in-Chief plus six Associate Editors. The main duties of the Editor-in-Chief are to oversee and adjudicate on the review process for all submitted manuscripts, to set the overall strategic direction for PASA, to promote PASA to the astronomical community, and to serve as an ex officio member of the ASA Council. The ASA is seeking a new Editor-in-Chief for PASA, commencing in January 2015. Appointment as Editor-in-Chief is for a three-year term, with the expectation of a further appointment for one or more additional terms. An honorarium is paid annually, currently at the level of AU$5000 per year. The role of Editor-in-Chief will be selected on the basis of standing in the community, experience in academic refereeing and publication, and a compelling vision for the journal. The anticipated time commitment expected for this role is approximately 0.1 of full-time equivalent employment. The Editor-in-Chief must be a member of the ASA, or must be willing to join the ASA if appointed. Interested candidates should submit their application to the ASA President, Andrew Hopkins (ahopkins at aao.gov.au), by 30 Sep 2014. Applications should include: - a brief statement of suitability for the position, including relevant previous experience in the refereeing/editing/publishing process (1-2 pages); - a brief statement of a vision for the journal's future activities and directions (1-2 pages); - a brief CV (maximum 5 pages). Potential applicants who have any questions about the role or the journal are encouraged to contact the outgoing PASA Editor-in-Chief, Bryan Gaensler (bryan.gaensler at sydney.edu.au). PASA Editor-in-Chief Responsibilities ------------------------------------- The PASA Editor-in-Chief is appointed by the ASA Council. The ASA Council also appoints an additional six Associate Editors, who each serve three-year terms on a rolling basis. The Editor-in-Chief, with the support of the rest of the Editorial Board, is responsible for the overall scientific success of the journal in the international astronomical community. Measures of success include number and quality of submissions, rejection rate, citations and impact factor, and timeliness of peer review. The Editor-in-Chief oversees this by: 1) Attracting submissions of quality research papers to the journal. 2) Organising peer review of submitted manuscripts in a timely fashion, using Cambridge University Press' electronic submission and peer review system. 3) Providing strategic direction to the journal. Further details on these duties and responsibilities are provided athttp://sifa.org.au/PASA-EIC. Andrew Hopkins President, ASA -- A.Prof. Andrew Hopkins, Head of Research and Outreach Australian Astronomical Observatory P.O. Box 915, North Ryde, NSW 1670, Australia ph: +61 2 9372 4849 fax: +61 2 9372 4880 From Katrina.Sealey at aao.gov.au Wed Aug 13 11:36:11 2014 From: Katrina.Sealey at aao.gov.au (Katrina Sealey) Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 11:36:11 +1000 Subject: [ASA] Celebrate 50 years at SSO this year! Oct 3-5 Message-ID: <53EAC10B.5050201@aao.gov.au> Siding Spring Observatory (SSO) celebrates not one, but three significant anniversaries in 2014. In 1964 SSO was established with the opening of the /ANU 40 inch Telescope/ marking its *50th anniversary*, the /Anglo-Australian Telescope, /Australia's largest optical telescope will celebrate its *40th anniversary* and the /ANU/ /2.3m/ Advance Technology Telescope will celebrate its *30th anniversary*. To mark these three significant anniversaries, the SSO astronomical institutions join under the banner of *StarFest* for a very special long weekend in October (Friday 3rd - Sunday 5th). StarFest includes the popular Bok Lecturewith Andy Thomas (former NASA astronaut) , the exciting Science in the Pub (featuring Robyn Williams, Fred Watson, Charley Lineweaver, Amanda Bauer and Joss Bland Hawthorn) and the full array of Open Day activities that occur on top of Siding Spring Observatory. This year introduces a special evening event at Milroy Observatory with special guest speakers Prof Brian Schmidt and Dr David Malin. Come and enjoy an evening of wine, canapes and star viewings. For more information (and to book tickets) visit www.starfest.org.au -- Dr Katrina Sealey IT Manager, Australian Astronomical Observatory PO Box 915, North Ryde NSW 1670 katrina.sealey at aao.gov.au p 02 9372 4877 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcroton at astro.swin.edu.au Wed Aug 13 12:22:57 2014 From: dcroton at astro.swin.edu.au (Darren Croton) Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 12:22:57 +1000 Subject: [ASA] ANITA lecture: What is gravitational wave astronomy? Paul Lasky -- Wed 20/8 @1pm Message-ID: <19345D03-5C5A-43B9-9FE5-941C2F8D6F40@astro.swin.edu.au> Dear ANITA and ASA members. Next Wednesday 20th August at 1pm (AEST) ANITA will hold its next online lecture: What is gravitational wave astronomy, and what can it do for me? Dr. Paul Lasky, University of Melbourne. ABSTRACT: The dawn of gravitational wave astronomy is fast approaching. With Advanced LIGO coming online in 2015, and Pulsar Timing Arrays already placing interesting astrophysical limits on black hole merger rates, the first direct detection of gravitational waves is imminent. But what are these waves, and how do we know they're there? In this talk I will give a pedagogical introduction to gravitational wave astronomy. Splitting the talk into 3 parts, I will answer a number of frequently asked questions: What are gravitational waves? How are we trying to detect them? When do we expect the first detections? What can we learn about the Universe from gravitational wave astronomy? What can gravitational wave astronomy do for my research? What contributions are Australian researchers making to gravitational wave astronomy? All are welcome to join! The target audience will range from undergrad to postdoc, however anyone interested is sure to get something out of it. More details (including lecture notes and slides closer to the day) are available at: http://anita.edu.au/lectures/ Thanks, and see you there! Darren Croton & Chris Power ----------------------------- The lecture will be held through Google Hangouts on Air. You'll first need a Google account (e.g. gmail). Log in to it. If you've never done a Google Hangout before you'll need to install a plugin for your browser. See https://www.google.com/tools/dlpage/hangoutplugin On Google+ search for "Anita Chapter" and head to our page. Alternatively, go directly to our Chapter page here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104967001091880466806/posts You'll see a post for the Hangout on Air at around 1pm - hit play and enjoy! Some hints for a better experience: Download the lecture slides before hand. We'll post them on the day. You can breakout the small video window on the Google+ page by opening it in YouTube. This gives you a much bigger view. Post any comments/questions under the video in the comments box on the Google+ or YouTube page. We'll try and answer them in real-time. I don't believe that comments are updated automatically; you may need to reload the page to see the latest. All lectures will be hosted on our ANITA YouTube page for later viewing. -- Darren Croton Associate Professor & QEII Research Fellow Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing Swinburne University of Technology PO Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia Phone: 61-3-9214-5537; Fax: 61-3-9214-8797 http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/~dcroton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Thu Aug 14 14:23:39 2014 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 14:23:39 +1000 Subject: [ASA] PhD Scholarships at Swinburne Message-ID: Dear ASA Members, We would be grateful if you could bring the following to the attention of interested students. PhD Scholarships at Swinburne University: Expressions of Interest due early September http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/study/postgradstudy.html The Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing (CAS) at Swinburne University of Technology (Melbourne, Australia) invites applications for its PhD program and scholarships from Australian and international students. Expressions of Interest for PhD scholarships beginning in late 2014 are due by Sept. 8th, 2014. With over 18 research faculty, 17 postdocs and 40 students, CAS offers a vibrant, research-focused and friendly atmosphere where PhD students help conduct - and learn how to lead - cutting-edge research. CAS has a collaborative agreement with Caltech guaranteeing up to 15 nights per year on the 10-m Keck Telescopes (Hawaii). CAS also hosts the GPU-based "gSTAR" - one of Australia's most powerful supercomputers. Our research strengths cover many areas of astronomy, from cosmology and the large-scale structure of the Universe, to quasars and the most distant known galaxies, to clusters and groups of galaxies, down to our own Milky Way, its structure and fascinating contents: pulsars, neutron stars, globular clusters, stars and planets. We also research 3-D visualisation techniques and applications of advanced scientific computing. CAS scholarship stipends, with tuition fee waivers, are $25,392 plus a $3,000 top-up per year (tax free) for both Australian and international PhD students. In addition to their scholarship stipend, students are allocated a computer and may access internal research funds for telescope observing trips, conferences etc. Swinburne's Hawthorn campus is situated in a lively, urban setting just minutes by public transport from Melbourne's city centre. Other benefits include thesis publication allowance, standard 4-week p.a. recreation leave plus sick leave (including carer leave), paid maternity (12 weeks) and partner leave entitlements. For details about postgraduate study at CAS, including available supervisors, PhD topics and how to apply, see http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/study/postgradstudy.html The deadline for Expressions of Interest is Sept. 8th, 2014. Shortlisted applicants will then be invited to discuss PhD projects with possible supervisors well before Swinburne's formal scholarship deadline. -- Professor Duncan A. Forbes ARC DORA Fellow Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing Room AR203, Mail H29 Swinburne University, Hawthorn VIC 3122 Australia Ph: +61 3 9214 4392, Fax: +61 3 9214 8797 Web: http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/dforbes -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From aatts at aao.gov.au Fri Aug 15 11:40:29 2014 From: aatts at aao.gov.au (AAT Technical Secretary) Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 11:40:29 +1000 Subject: [ASA] AAT Proposal Call for Semester 2015A - deadline 5PM, 15 September 2014 Message-ID: <53ED650D.3030501@aao.gov.au> 2015A AAT Call for Proposals The main proposal deadline for AAT and CTIO time-swap time in Semester 2015A (February 2015 - July 2015) is: *Monday, 15 September 2014, at 17:00* *Australian Eastern Standard Time, i.e. UTC + 10 hrs* Proposals to ATAC can be submitted from 20 August 2014 through until the deadline using the new Lens proposal form, and are welcomed from all astronomers worldwide. This AAT call for proposals is available online at https://www.aao.gov.au/science/observing/apply-for-observing-time . Applying for AAT Telescope Time through ATAC Important information for applicants Time available for new proposals: Because of existing Large Programs and other obligations, there are roughly 93 nights available for new proposals in Semester 15A (12 dark, 19 grey, 62 bright). A call for Large AAT Programs will /*not*/ be made in Semester 2015A. Proposals for Long Term AAT Programs are welcome in 2015A. New proposal submission system The AAO is moving to a new proposal submission system, known as Lens. This system is a user account based system, which will allow for improved security and better tracking of past and current proposals. At present, we are still in the testing phase of Lens, but anticipate that it will be available for general use from*Wednesday 20 August, 2014*. An email with more details will be sent via the ASA exploder. Users who have applied for time as PI in the past four semesters (i.e. starting from 2013A) have had accounts pre-configured. They will receive an email with their login details in the days leading up to the launch of Lens. All other users are encouraged to register with the system at https://www.aao.gov.au/lens/register /Note that users*cannot*be added to proposals if they are not registered in Lens./Please make sure that all investigators on a proposal have registered*well before the deadline!* For any queries or comments, please emaillens at aao.gov.au . Instrument status * UHRF will not be available for use in 15A. * As of February 2014, AAOmega has a new blue CCD. This has increased the throughput by an order of ~5% and, more importantly, is cosmetically much cleaner with only 0.04% of the pixels flagged as bad (compared to 0.8% for the old blue CCD). * The AAO will replace the red CCD in AAOmega during Semester 14B. This will provide a significant increase in throughput as well as extend the throughput out to ~1 micron. HERMES status HERMES is now a general-user instrument. Questions about expected instrument performance should be directed to the HERMES Project Scientist, Gayandhi De Silva (gayandhi.desilva at aao.gov.au ). KOALA status KOALA (Kilo-fibre Optical AAT Lenslet Array) has replaced SPIRAL as the integral-field capability to AAOmega. KOALA has a 2x areal increase in the field-of-view over SPIRAL (at the same spatial resolution), a selectable spatial resolution of 0.7"or 1.25", an increase in throughput at all wavelengths, particularly at the extreme blue, and simplified field rotation.Information on KOALA can be found in the instrumentation page and a new exposure time calculator is available. Questions about expected performance should be directed to the KOALA instrument scientist, Andy Green (andrew.green at aao.gov.au ). Remote observing Since Semester 13A, remote observing from the AAO's North Ryde headquarters has been available as an option for all AAT facility instruments. We are developing a framework for offsite remote observing at a later stage, in order to allow astronomers across Australia to observe from their home institutions. Until that system is ready, observers who wish to travel to Sydney to carry out remote observations can continue to access the existing Travel and Accommodation support offered to AAT observers. Service time If projects require fewer than 6 hours of observing time, they can be performed in service time. Applications for service time are made electronically direct to the AAO and reviewed every four months. See the AAT Service Observing page for more details. Applying for CTIO time-swap Time through ATAC AAO-CTIO time-swap arrangement The AAO and NOAO/CTIO have initiated a time-swap arrangement, to allow our respective communities to maximise their scientific opportunities through access to a broader range of facilities. In Semester 15A there will be 15 nights available to the Australian community to apply for CTIO time. Generally a uniform distribution of lunations will be available to the Australian community. This uniform distribution is particularly important in B semesters (especially Sept-Nov) due to existing CTIO commitments. Note, DECam has been demonstrated to produce useful imaging in the reddest filters (izY) on all but the very brightest nights. Instruments available The DECam imager, the ISPI IR imager and the COSMOS spectrograph are available for Australian proposals. COSMOS is available in an imaging and longslit spectroscopy (slitwidth of 0.6" or 0.9") modes. The multi-object spectroscopic capability of COSMOS is now available in a shared-risk mode. All scheduled observations will be carried out in classical mode with observers required to travel to the telescope. Please review Current CTIO Instrumentation Status and CTIO Telescope Information for more information. How to apply Those who wish to apply for this time should do so using the Lens proposal system, selecting "CTIO 4m" from the telescopes menu on the first page of the proposal form. The standard proposal page limits and recommendations regarding technical justifications should be followed. The proposals will be assessed by ATAC, and graded proposals provided to CTIO for scheduling. How to Apply for AAT Time - the Basic Steps Instrument status and policies All ATAC applicants should check the latest Instrument Availability and recent Policy Announcements . If you require further clarification on any issue, then please contact the AAT Technical Secretary (aatts at aao.gov.au ). See Special Override Rules for proposals seeking time as an override on another program's time and the Long Term Program page for those seeking long term status. Proposals requiring at most 6 hours of observing time should be submitted to the AAO's Service Observing program. If the PI, and at least half the observing team are from European countries, they may apply for AAT time through the OPTICON program . Proposal content Full Technical Details, outlining how you derived your time estimates, observing constraints, and any special requests should be included in the scientific case (preferably under a separate section heading). If your proposal seeks time on two instruments, outline carefully the relative requirements of the different instrument set-ups, including the split in observing time between the instruments. If the observations are essential to the completion of a student's PhD thesis, then a full explanation must be given in the science case. No special consideration is given to proposals involving PhD students, except when attempting to schedule proposals near the cut-off, when some priority may be given. All AAT applicants are required to *add on a 33% allowance for bad weather* to the total time you estimate you will need to reach the desired signal-to-noise, plus readout, slewing, and acquisition time. All applicants should be aware that it is the policy of the AAO that any backup project must use the same instrument as the main project. A list of the principal targets (field centres for AAOmega+2dF programs) should be prepared as a separate PDF document. The target list should contain target name, RA (h m s), Dec (d m s), target brightness, and priority. There is a 2-page limit for this target list PDF file. Other document formats will not be accepted. Proposal submission details Prepare your main proposal offline, including an abstract, target list, science case, and technical justification. The science case and technical justification together should be, in PDF format, no more than three pages total, with two pages for the science case and one page for technical justification. The split into two pages science, plus one page technical, is a change from previous semesters. Those three pages should include all references and figures, use 11pt font (or larger), and have at least 10mm margins. Colour figures are accepted. Other document formats will not be accepted. The limit for pre-approved Long-Term programs is five pages. Please contact the ATAC Secretary, Helen Woods (helen.woods at aao.gov.au ) well in advance of submitting this kind of proposal. Submitting your proposal When your proposal details are ready, submit your application to ATAC through Lens, the AAT's new proposal system. As noted above, this is a user-account-based system and all investigators on a proposal*must*be registered. Registration will open on Wednesday 20 August 2015 via https://www.aao.gov.au/lens/register. Contacting the ATAC Secretariat The Secretary, ATAC Australian Astronomical Observatory PO Box 915 North Ryde NSW 1670 Australia Phone: +61 (0)2 9372 4800 Fax: +61 (0)2 9372 4880 Email enquiries: Helen Woods (helen.woods at aao.gov.au ) -- Lee Spitler AAT Technical Secretary Lecturer Australian Astronomical Observatory & Macquarie University Sydney, Australia P: +61 (2) 9850 4161 www.physics.mq.edu.au www.aao.gov.au -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: