From kate.gunn at sydney.edu.au Mon Mar 27 11:43:32 2017 From: kate.gunn at sydney.edu.au (Kate Gunn) Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2017 00:43:32 +0000 Subject: [ASA] CAASTRO in the Classroom - School Education Officer Message-ID: <21BF42965AE9384093D6B6112ACD9CDD0122B46D79@ex-mbx-pro-01> CAASTRO is looking for a new School Education Officer who will design, develop and implement a new national program for "CAASTRO in the Classroom" (CitC). This role will be based at the University of Sydney and is part time (3 days a week for 20 months). The closing date for applications is 9 April 2017. http://www.caastro.org/jobs For further information, please contact Kate Gunn, kate.gunn at sydney.edu.au KATE GUNN | Chief Operating Officer CAASTRO | School of Physics | Faculty of Science | ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics Rm 356 Building A28 | School of Physics The University of Sydney | NSW | 2006 T +61 2 9351 2893 | M +61 411 466 080 Email kate.gunn at sydney.edu.au W http:// www.caastro.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From k.williams at sydney.edu.au Tue Mar 28 10:31:43 2017 From: k.williams at sydney.edu.au (Kylie Williams) Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2017 23:31:43 +0000 Subject: [ASA] REMINDER: OzSKA 3 Oral Abstract Submissions close 31 March 2017 Message-ID: OzSKA 3 Workshop, 8-9 May 2017, Holme Building, University of Sydney, Sydney ORAL ABSTRACT DEADLINE: 31 MARCH 2017 A reminder that oral abstract submissions close on 31 March 2017 for OzSKA 3 Workshop, schedule for 8-9 May 2017 at the University of Sydney. You can registrations and submit your abstract here: open. Registrations for the workshop will close on 28 April The program will feature the following speakers: * Sarah Pearce (CASS), update from SKA Board * David Luchetti (DIIS), update from SKA Australia Office * Randall Wayth (Curtin), MWA * Karen Lee-Waddell (CASS), ASKAP * Julia Bryant (Sydney), Hector * Sarah Maddison (Swinburne), Cradle of Life * George Heald (CASS), Cosmic Magnetism * Minh Huynh (CASS/UWA), Extragalactic Continuum * Cath Trott (remote) (Curtin), Epoch of Reionisation * Ian Heywood (CASS), Cosmology * Shari Breen (Sydney), Our Galaxy * Lisa Kewley (ANU), CAASTRO 3D * Matthew Bailes (remote) , OzGrav * Keith Bannister (CASS), ASKAP * Sarah Brough (UNSW), LSST * Peter Quinn (UWA), SKA Regional Centres * Miroslav Filipovic (UWS), CTA * Luke Davies (UWA), WAVES Workshop Details: * Dates: 8-9 May 2017 9:00am to 5:00pm daily * Location: Sutherland Room, Holme Building, University of Sydney, Sydney * Website: http://www.caastro.org/event/2017-ozska3 * Registration Fee: $50 to assist in covering the cost of catering * Scientific Organising Committee o Phil Edwards o George Heald o Andrew Hopkins o Tara Murphy o Cath Trott Travel and Accommodation Participants will arrange their own travel and accommodation. A list of some relatively convenient accommodations options in the general vicinity of the workshop venue are located on our website: http://www.caastro.org/event/2017-ozska3 Visa Information All travellers other than Australian and New Zealand citizens need a valid visa or authority to enter Australia (including electronic visas). For some nationalities, processing and issuance of visas can take several weeks/months, so apply well before your planned travel. Please contact Kylie Williams if you need a letter of invitation for your visa application. Please do not hesitate to contact Phil Edwards or Kylie Williams if you have any questions. We look forward to welcoming you to the workshop. KYLIE WILLIAMS | Events and Communications CAASTRO | School of Physics | Faculty of Science | ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics Rm 352 Building A28 | School of Physics The University of Sydney | NSW | 2006 T +61 2 9114 2183 | F +61 2 9114 2195| M +61 478 404 619 Email k.williams at sydney.edu.au W http:// www.caastro.org Please note: I am in the office Monday, Tuesday and Thursday (9:00am - 5:30pm) and Wednesday (9:00am - 2:00pm) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tara at physics.usyd.edu.au Wed Mar 29 08:36:53 2017 From: tara at physics.usyd.edu.au (Tara Murphy) Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2017 08:36:53 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Data-driven Astronomy MOOC - new course Message-ID: Hi everyone (particularly postdocs and postgrads). I would to let you know about a new (free) course on ?Data-driven Astronomy? that we have recently launched on Coursera. https://www.coursera.org/learn/data-driven-astronomy This 6-week course is aimed at senior undergraduate and postgraduate students, or postdoctoral researchers who would like to learn more about computational thinking in an astronomy context. The course covers: *Week 1: Thinking about data* - Principles of computational thinking - Discovering pulsars in radio images *Week 2: Big data makes things slow* - How to work out the time complexity of algorithms - Exploring the black holes at the centres of massive galaxies *Week 3: Querying data using SQL* - How to use databases to analyse your data - Investigating exoplanets in other solar systems *Week 4: Managing your data* - How to set up databases to manage your data - Exploring the lifecycle of stars in our Galaxy *Week 5: Learning from data: regression* - Using machine learning tools to investigate your data - Calculating the redshifts of distant galaxies *Week 6: Learning from data: classification* - Using machine learning tools to classify your data - Investigating different types of galaxies The course assumes some knowledge of Python programming (including functions), but other than that there is no assumed knowledge. It will be running every month, all year, so you can do it at any time. The next session starts on April 10th. Please feel free to forward to anyone you know who may be interested, and let me know if you have any questions, Tara -- A/PROF TARA MURPHY | ARC Future Fellow Sydney Institute for Astronomy | School of Physics | Faculty of Science THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Room 358, Physics Building A28 The University of Sydney | NSW | 2006 T +61 2 9351 3041 E tara at physics.usyd.edu.au http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/~tara -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From arnakarick at gmail.com Wed Mar 29 11:49:56 2017 From: arnakarick at gmail.com (Arna Karick) Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2017 11:49:56 +1100 Subject: [ASA] =?utf-8?q?LISA_VIII=3A_Astronomy_Librarianship_in_the_Era_o?= =?utf-8?q?f_Big_Data_and_Open_Science_=E2=80=93=C2=A0early_bird_registrat?= =?utf-8?q?ion_deadline=3A_31st_March?= Message-ID: Library and Information Services in Astronomy - LISA VIII: Astronomy Librarianship in the Era of Big Data and Open Science Hosted by the Centre de Donn?es astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS). EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION DEADLINE: 31st March 2017 Where: Coll?ge Doctoral Europ?en on the campus of the University of Strasbourg, France When: June 6-9, 2017 Registration (early-bird: 200 euro): http://cds.u-strasbg.fr/meetings/Lisa8/register.html Dear Colleagues, The Library and Information Services in Astronomy (LISA) is a series of scientific meetings for librarians and scientists that aims to provide a platform to discuss the state of the art of information maintenance, retrieval, delivery, and preservation and to learn from invited experts the directions in which our profession is moving. LISA conferences cover such diverse topics as organization and management of books, journals, and specialized materials; electronic publishing (note that astronomy is a leader in the field); bibliographic and full text databases of astronomical literature; reports on collaborative projects. The themes for this years conference include: Open source software publishing Copyright Research and technology skills training Data management Repositories Metrics Come join us! The conference Keynote Speaker will be Fran?oise Genova, Senior Researcher at CDS, IVOA Executive Board Member and Co-Chair of the Research Data Alliance (RDA) Technical Advisory Board. The official LISA VIII website is located at: http://cds.u-strasbg.fr/meetings/Lisa8/ Information about previous LISA conferences can be found at http://www.eso.org/libraries/lisa.html Regards, Arna Karick LISA VIII SOC on behalf of?. Eva and Barbara Co-chairs, LISA VIII SOC Eva Isaksson Helsinki University Library, Finland eva.isaksson at helsinki.fi Barbara Kern University of Chicago Library, USA bkern at uchicago.edu Dr. Arna Karick Freelance Consultant ? Astronomy & Scientific Computing Based at One Roof ? Melbourne Email: arnakarick at gmail.com Twitter: @drarnakarick Websites: www.arnakarick.com | techsavvyastronomer.io -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From helmut.jerjen at anu.edu.au Wed Mar 29 18:20:11 2017 From: helmut.jerjen at anu.edu.au (Helmut Jerjen) Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2017 07:20:11 +0000 Subject: [ASA] 1st Announcement: The 2017 Annual Scientific Meeting and Harley Wood School of Astronomy Message-ID: <2213A0ED-DF35-43EE-9A3C-EB006177028A@anu.edu.au> Dear Colleagues, It is our great pleasure to announce the 2017 Astronomical Society of Australia's Annual Scientific Meeting and Harley Wood School of Astronomy. The *Annual Scientific Meeting will be held on 9th-14th July 2017*, at The Australian National University, while the preceding *Harley Wood School will be held on 6th-9th July*, at ANU?s Kioloa Coastal Campus. Key Dates are: 29 March: Website and Registration opens 1 May: Abstract submission closes 21 May: Early Bird closes 26 May: Speakers registration closes 30 May: Program release 17 June: Registration closes 6 - 9 July: Harley Wood School 9 - 14 July: Annual Scientific Meeting Thanks to the generosity of a wide range of sponsors the registration fees could be significantly reduced compared to previous years. Please register and submit your abstracts, and find more relevant information on the ASM and HWS here: https://asa2017.anu.edu.au/ For general enquires, please contact the LOC on: asa2017-loc at mso.anu.edu.au For scientific enquiries, please contact the SOC on: asa2017-soc at mso.anu.edu.au Looking forward to seeing you all in Canberra in July, Brad Tucker and Helmut Jerjen (co-chairs of the LOC), on behalf of the LOC From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Thu Mar 30 08:54:55 2017 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2017 21:54:55 +0000 Subject: [ASA] GMTO Newsletter - March 2017 Message-ID: <299EC1F4-7A37-4803-8678-BF7CD93964D6@sydney.edu.au> Having trouble viewing this email? Visit: : http://www.gmto.org/2017/03/march-2017/ [http://files.constantcontact.com/4fb6335e001/fdad0c05-e14d-4031-bc38-46706d9cca22.jpg] GMTO Newsletter - March 2017 Welcome to the March newsletter Late 2016 and early 2017 saw several major steps forward for the Giant Magellan Telescope project. In January, the GMTO Board appointed Dr. Robert N. Shelton as President of the organization. Dr. Shelton brings a wealth of experience to the project and will provide overall leadership at GMTO. Dr. Shelton will work in close partnership with the GMTO Board and will engage with leadership at the founder institutions and prospective new founders and supporters. Also in January, the team at the Richard F. Caris mirror laboratory at the University of Arizona completed generation of the front surface of the second primary mirror segment and made the first surface map of this mirror - polishing will begin in the next few weeks. In December of 2016, we opened staff and contractor residence at the GMT site in Chile. Staff stayed overnight for the first time, and since then we have hosted several groups of visitors, as well as the regular contingent of 50 or more construction workers and staff. In February, we released the Request for Proposals for the final design and fabrication of the Telescope Mount to more than thirty companies in ten countries. This is a major milestone for the project and sets us on the path to completing the observatory. We look forward to sharing this newsletter with you. Remember you can always keep up to date with what's happening at GMTO from our website, gmto.org, or from our presence on social media. -Dr. Patrick McCarthy Read the newsletter here Dr. Robert N. Shelton appointed GMTO President [http://files.constantcontact.com/4fb6335e001/1cdb051d-3833-41a4-80d7-fa2ce08b09f1.jpg] Dr. Robert N. Shelton In January, GMTO announced the appointment of Dr. Robert N. Shelton to the position of President. Dr. Shelton joins GMTO from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement where he was president for three years. Read more... Request for Proposals for Telescope Mount released [http://files.constantcontact.com/4fb6335e001/1e30caf4-c239-4048-bdb5-317f9e23d323.png] Detail of the telescope mount The GMT Project reached a major milestone on February 23, 2017, with the release of the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the final design and construction of the telescope's main structure ('the telescope mount'). Read more... Site construction update [https://thumbnail.constantcontact.com/remoting/v1/vthumb/YOUTUBE/fb62936ee92d4aa2a212bb55a26c455a] Drone view of the GMT summit taken February 2017. Video credit: Ricardo Alcayaga. Since November, the team in Chile has been busy getting the site's living and sleeping facilities ready for occupation while conducting additional site testing on the summit. See photos from the site and read more... Profile: George Angeli, Project Systems Engineer [http://files.constantcontact.com/4fb6335e001/52c9a13f-825d-4768-bb78-5e78a2972e78.jpg] Dr. George Angeli We are very pleased to welcome Dr. George Angeli to the GMTO family. Dr. Angeli is GMTO's Project Systems Engineer. George is responsible for the technical integrity of the project, including overseeing the flow down of the scientific requirements into technical requirements to ensure the science goals can be achieved by the telescope. For this newsletter, George answered a few questions about his life and career. Read the Q&A... Community Engagement - SXSW and AAS [http://files.constantcontact.com/4fb6335e001/e39faeee-aa4b-4629-be02-835c881cb1b7.jpg] The GMTO panel at South by Southwest. Image courtesy: Margaret Roth. Earlier this month GMTO held a panel discussion at the annual South by Southwest conference and film festival in Austin, TX. In January, GMTO held a community open house at the winter meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Grapevine, TX. Read more about these events... Announcement of 5th Annual Community Science Meeting [http://files.constantcontact.com/4fb6335e001/b3a3f345-cd61-4b87-8a2d-b2a791d5c952.jpg] The Fifth Annual GMT Community Science Meeting, sponsored by the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization, will be held from September 17-20, 2017 at the Tarrytown House Estate & Conference Center in New York. Read more... Join our mailing list GMTO Corporation | +1 626 204 0500 | Email us | gmto.org STAY CONNECTED: [Like us on Facebook] [Follow us on Twitter] [View our profile on LinkedIn] [Find us on Google+] [View on Instagram] [View our videos on YouTube] GMTO Corporation, 465 N. Halstead St., Suite 250, Pasadena, CA 91107 SafeUnsubscribe? john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Forward this email | Update Profile | About our service provider Sent by gmtadmin at gmto.org in collaboration with [Constant Contact] Try it free today -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From k.williams at sydney.edu.au Thu Mar 30 11:21:37 2017 From: k.williams at sydney.edu.au (Kylie Williams) Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2017 00:21:37 +0000 Subject: [ASA] REMINDER: From Black Hole to Environment - Oral Abstract Submission Closes 31 March 2017 Message-ID: ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINE - 31 MARCH 2017 >From Black Hole to Environment: galaxy evolution across multiple wavelengths 20 - 24 August 2017 Australian National University, Canberra Australia A reminder that oral abstract submissions will be closing on 31 March 2017 for the From Black Hole to Environment: galaxy evolution across multiple wavelengths Conference. Please register and submit your oral abstract prior to that date. Please also circulate this message to any colleagues who may find it of interest. Conference details: * Title: From Black Hole to Environment: galaxy evolution across multiple wavelengths * Website: http://www.caastro.org/event/2017-blackhole * Registration page: Registration and abstract submission link * Conference Fees (Incl. GST): o Early Bird Registration Fee*: $AUS400 o Registration Fee*: $AUS500 o Student Registration Fee: $AUS300 *Please note: Payment is not required at time of registration. However payment must be received by COB on15 May 2017 to receive the early bird fee. >From 16 May 2017 Registration Fee of $AU500 will be charged * Invited Speakers: o Katherine Alatalo (Carnegie Observatories) o Geoffrey Bicknell (ANU) o Julia Bryant (USYD/AAO) o Kristen Coppin (Hertfordshire) o Elisabete da Cunha (ANU) o Natasha Hurley-Walker (Curtin/ICRAR) o Jedidah Isler (Vanderbilt) TBC o Melanie Johnston-Hollit (VUW) o Sugata Kaviraj (Hertfordshire) o Mark Krumholtz (ANU) o Jorge Moreno (Cal Poly Pomona) o Nicole Nesvadba (IAS, Osray) o Chris Power (UWA) * Important Dates o Oral Presentation Abstracts Close: March 31, 2017 o Poster Abstracts Close: July 14, 2017 o Programme Available: May 1, 2017 o Early Bird Closes: May 15, 2017 o Registrations Close: July 14, 2017 * Meals Your registration fee includes the following meals for each day: o Morning tea o Lunch o Afternoon tea If you have any dietary requirements, please ensure you make a note of these when you register for the conference under the Dietary Information field. The Registration fee will also cover the Welcome Function on 20 August 2017 and the conference dinner being held on 22 August 2017. * VISA Information All travelers other than Australian and New Zealand citizens need a valid visa or authority to enter Australia (including electronic visas). More information is available on the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (http://www.border.gov.au/). Please contact the organisers if you need a letter of invitation for your visa application. For some nationalities, processing and issuance of visas can take several weeks/months, so apply well before your planned travel. * Scientific Organising Committee: o Julie Banfield (Chair), ANU o Judith Croston, Southampton o Alastair Edge, Durham o Anne Medling, Caltech o Dipanjan Mukherjee, ANU o Matt Owers, AAO/Macquarie o Kevin Pimbblet, Hull o Elaine Sadler, USYD o Stas Shabala, UTAS o Ivy Wong, ICRAR/UWA o Cathie Zheng, VUW * Local Organizing Committee: o Julie Banfield (Chair), ANU o Suryashree Aniyan, ANU o Kate Gunn, USYD o Anais Moller, ANU o Rob Sharp, ANU o Philip Taylor, ANU o Brad Tucker, ANU o Kylie Williams, USYD KYLIE WILLIAMS | Events and Communications CAASTRO | School of Physics | Faculty of Science | ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics Rm 352 Building A28 | School of Physics The University of Sydney | NSW | 2006 T +61 2 9114 2183 | F +61 2 9114 2195| M +61 478 404 619 Email k.williams at sydney.edu.au W http:// www.caastro.org Please note: I am in the office Monday, Tuesday and Thursday (9:00am - 5:30pm) and Wednesday (9:00am - 2:00pm) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pbarmby at uwo.ca Fri Mar 31 03:47:23 2017 From: pbarmby at uwo.ca (Pauline Barmby) Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2017 16:47:23 +0000 Subject: [ASA] postdoc position in Ontario, Canada Message-ID: The Department of Physics & Astronomy at Western University in London, Canada has a postdoctoral position available, to work on stellar populations and star formation in nearby galaxies. The successful applicant will use multiwavelength observations and innovative computational and statistical techniques to put together the big picture of galaxy formation. She or he will carry out independent as well as directed research and be eligible to apply for telescope time with CFHT, Gemini, ALMA, and JCMT. Candidates must have a PhD in astrophysics or related fields and experience with astronomical observations. Expertise in studies of nearby galaxies and/or in data analysis using advanced statistical methods including machine learning would be advantageous. The initial appointment is for 1 year with the expectation of one or two additional years dependent upon performance and continued funding. The start date is flexible, but preferably not later than September 2017. The position will remain open until filled; review of applications will begin on May 1, 2017. Applicants should send a cover letter, CV, brief statement of research interests, and contact information for at least 2 references in a single PDF to Prof. Pauline Barmby, via Ms Stephanie Attardi, sattard3 at uwo.ca. Questions about the position can be addressed to Prof. Barmby, pbarmby at uwo.ca; research group information is at http://nearby-galaxies.github.io The University of Western Ontario is committed to employment equity and welcomes applications from all qualified women and men, including visible minorities, Aboriginal persons and persons with disabilities. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From itso at aao.gov.au Fri Mar 31 08:55:45 2017 From: itso at aao.gov.au (International Telescopes Support Office) Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2017 08:55:45 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Reminder: Call for Gemini, Blanco, and Magellan proposals in Semester 2017B In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <2103ad7f-9079-8c66-7d70-5f4d2858fc4d@aao.gov.au> We would like to take this opportunity to remind the community that proposals for the final semester of Gemini access, as well as the next semester of Blanco telescope access, are due by 5pm AEST today. In addition, we have received updated information about the availability of Magellan instrumentation in 2017B - please see the updated Call for Proposals below. Magellan proposals are due by 5pm AEST Friday 7 April 2017. Stuart Ryder Head of International Telescopes Support Australian Astronomical Observatory ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2017B Call for Gemini and Blanco proposals Proposals for Australian time on the Gemini North and South telescopes, and the CTIO Blanco 4m telescope for Semester 2017B (1 Aug 2017 - 31 January 2018) are due by *5:00pm AEST, Friday 31 March 2017.* A separate call for Magellan proposals in Semester 2017B (with a 7 April 2017 deadline) will be issued shortly. Proposals for Australian community access to the Keck telescopes in Semester 2017B (https://www.aao.gov.au/itso/keck/apply) are due by 22 March 2017. *What's new for Semester 2017B?* * In Semester 2017B there will be 5 nights on the Blanco 4m telescope available to the Australian community. The Dark Energy Survey (DES) has been granted 100 nights, and the DECals survey an additional 15-20 nights during 2017B. As a result the range of dates and lunations**available to the NOAO and AAO community will be restricted. * Australia ceased to be a full partner in Gemini on 31 December 2015. Astronomy Australia Ltd and the AAO have secured a limited-term partnership for 2017, providing a total of 7 classical nights over Semesters 2017A and 2017B split between Gemini North and Gemini South. ATAC allocated 3 of those nights in Semester 2017A, so for Semester 2017B there will nominally be *2 classical nights on Gemini North plus 2 classical nights on Gemini South* to allocate. As a limited-term partner, Australia is *ineligible* to participate in the Gemini queue process; the exchange program with Subaru; or in the joint proposal process. Additionally, access to block-scheduled instruments is subject to scheduling constraints, and not guaranteed. The block-scheduled instruments in 2017B are *GSAOI, GRACES, DSSI, and Phoenix*. * Starting in 2017B the Gemini Phase I Tool (PIT) will automatically add the time for the baseline partner calibrations to the total time requested for each target in the proposal. * The Gemini North Laser Guide Star (Altair with LGS) system will *not* be available for regular programs in 2017B. Natural Guide Star (NGS) programs with Altair will still be offered. * For FLAMINGOS-2, two new medium K-band filters are available for science observations in 2017B, in shared risk mode, pending installation and characterisation in 2017A. The FLAMINGOS-2 OIWFS is available for science observations requiring image quality IQ 85%-ile or better. * POLISH2, a high-precision polarimeter, will be available as a visitor instrument by arrangement with the PI at Gemini North in 2017B. The Phoenix high resolution near-infrared spectrograph will be available as a visitor instrument at Gemini South in 2017B, while the DSSI optical speckle camera will be available as a visitor instrument at Gemini North and at Gemini South. * New Hamamatsu CCDs are currently being installed in GMOS-North and are expected to be available for science in 2017B. Applicants should use the Hamamatsu CCD option when using the GMOS-N ITC for Semester 2017B. * The non-redundant mask in the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI ) will be offered for Semester 2017B, in shared risk mode. * The use of an On-Detector Guide Window (ODGW) star for flexure compensation with the Gemini South Adaptive Optics Imager (GSAOI ) is no longer required, opening up many targets which were previously inaccessible. * Proposals should request at least half a night, and at most two nights on any one telescope. Applicants must indicate in the Observing Conditions section the poorest conditions (principally the Image Quality and the Cloud Cover) they can use and still achieve their science goals. They should also specify a backup program (which may employ a different instrument if available) they would carry out if conditions are worse than this. * Although requests for queue mode on Gemini are not being sought in 2017B, ATAC may identify a subset of highly-ranked but unsuccessful programs submitted for classical time as being suitable for a "mini-queue" of programs to be executed by the scheduled PI (with assistance from Gemini staff), in case conditions are not good enough for their primary program. Applicants who would like their proposal to be considered for the mini-queue if not allocated classical time should indicate this in the technical justification section of their proposal. * Target-of-Opportunity (ToO) proposals cannot be submitted as classical programs. However, applicants may request classical time to follow up targets whose location and characteristics may not be known at the time of submission (e.g. supernovae, new objects of interest from ongoing surveys, etc.). How to apply Gemini proposals must be submitted using the 2017B release of the Phase I Tool (PIT). For full details on instrument availability and application procedures, please see: https://www.aao.gov.au/itso/gemini/apply as well as the official Gemini Observatory Call for Proposals at: http://www.gemini.edu/sciops/observing-gemini/2017b-call-proposals Blanco proposals must be submitted using the AAO's Lens proposal submission system. For full details on instrument availability and application procedures, please see: https://www.aao.gov.au/itso/blanco/apply Need help? For general enquiries about Australian access to the Gemini or Blanco telescopes, please contact the International Telescopes Support Office (itso at aao.gov.au) at the AAO. For technical queries about a Gemini Phase I proposal, please use the Gemini Helpdesk: http://www.gemini.edu/sciops/helpdesk/?q=sciops/helpdesk ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2017B Call for Magellan Proposals Proposals for Australian access to the Magellan telescopes for Semester 2017B (mid-Jul 2017 to mid-Jan 2018) are due by: *5:00pm AEST on Friday 7 April 2017** * (A separate call for Gemini and Blanco proposals in Semester 2017B with a 31 March 2017 deadline was issued earlier - please see https://www.aao.gov.au/itso/gemini/apply and https://www.aao.gov.au/itso/blanco/apply. A reminder also that Keck proposals for 2017B are due by 22 March - see https://www.aao.gov.au/itso/keck/apply. Updated information about the new Keck Cosmic Web Imager instrument is now available from http://www2.keck.hawaii.edu/inst/kcwi/pre_observing.html and should be consulted by all prospective applicants.) The instruments normally available on the two Magellan telescopes are listed on the ITSO Magellan instrumentation page, but applicants should bear in mind the following for Semester 2017B: * Due to upgrade work on the CCD camera, spectrograph alignment, and slit input mechanism *the Planet Finding Spectrograph will not be available for science in 2017B*. * The new CCD for LDSS3 has been commissioned. The new CCD has an extended red response, the performance is described in the paper to be found at . The new CCD has become the default detector for LDSS3. If you are interested in using the old CCD please note this in your proposal. * M2FS is a multifiber spectrograph with both high (20K < R < 34K) and low (1.5K < R < 2.7K) resolution modes. M2FSS is a PI instrument and will only be available via collaborative arrangement with the instrument team. If you are interested in using M2FS, please contact Mario Mateo (mmateo at umich.edu) for further details before submitting a proposal. M2FS will be scheduled in two blocks, one in September and one in November. * MegaCam: There will be one f/5 run on Clay in 2017B. During the f/5 run none of the other Clay instruments will be available. * Clay AO: There will be a single 9 night science run in September, 2017. Carnegie's share (from which Australian time is drawn) will be 3 nights of this run. * PISCO is a simultaneous griz-band imager, covering a 7.3 by 5.4 arcmin field with 0.11 arcsec/pixel sampling. PISCO is a PI instrument, those interested in using it should contact Tony Stark (aas at cfa.harvard.edu) before submitting a proposal. In recent semesters demand for instruments mounted on the Clay telescope has significantly exceeded that for instruments on the Baade telescope. Applicants are encouraged to consider whether their science might also be possible using the instruments on Baade (IMACS, FourStar, FIRE, MagE), should their preferred instrument on Clay not be available due to scheduling constraints. Complete information about all Magellan instrumentation on offer, travel funding, and the application procedure is available at https://www.aao.gov.au/itso/magellan. For any enquiries about Australian usage of Magellan please contact the AAO's International Telescopes Support Office (itso at aao.gov.au). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: