[ASA] Call for Proposals for 2.3m telescope time May-July 2013

[Paul Francis]

Dear Observer,

The closing date for observing proposals for time on the ANU/RSAA 2.3m telescope at Siding Spring Observatory (SSO) in the quarter MAY 1 - July 31 2013 is 23:59 February 15, 2012.  

Instruments available:
Nasymth A: WiFeS [see below]   Nasymth B: Imager or echelle.

WiFeS upgrade: we expect that both the red and blue arms of WiFeS will have been upgraded to the new CCDs before the start of
this quarter. The echelle and the imager will be available for the entire quarter.

Observing proposals must be submitted electronically via the RSAA web pages.
Full instructions are available at http://rsaa.anu.edu.au/observers/observing-rsaa.  You will need the most recent versions of the template and style files which can be obtained from the web pages.

        *************************** PLEASE NOTE ***********************************

(1) WiFeS users are requested to indicate on the proposal form whether they will be present at the telescope or observe remotely.  Remote observing is available only to experienced WiFeS observers but can now be carried out from sites other than Mt Stromlo subject to technical feasibility. It is possible that remote observing (from Mt Stromlo only) will also be available in this quarter for the echelle and the Imager, under limited circumstances.  If you would like to observe remotely with the echelle or the Imager, assuming it is possible, then please indicate this in your proposal.

(2) Proposals for use of the 2.3m will only be considered if the PI is from the ANU or from another institution that contributes financially or has contributed financially and directly to the building and/or operations of the 2.3m telescope and its commissioned instruments.  These institutions include those that collaborated on the successful ARC LIEF bid to fund the Blue Arm of the WiFeS spectrograph and the successful ARC LIEF bid for the WiFeS upgrade.  All such proposals will be judged on their scientific merit alone.  There will be no quotas placed on the amount of time available for qualifying institutions.  These policies will remain in place for the present.  Currently eligible (non-ANU) institutions are the AAO, UQld, UNSW and USyd as well as Swinburne, Monash and Macquarie.

(3) Limited first night support at the telescope is now provided to new observers.  Nevertheless new observers are strongly encouraged to be present at the telescope at least one night before their observing run to familiarise themselves with the telescope and instrument operating systems.

The latest information on using the telescope and its instruments can be found athttp://rsaa.anu.edu.au/observers/obsering-rsaa.

(4) Proposers are reminded to limit their scientific case to TWO pages, including figures and references. 

(5) At the time of writing this, the exact schedule for bushfire recovery is still quite uncertain. We expect the 2.3m to be back in full operation, and with upgraded CCDs well prior to the start of this semester, but the situation is subject to change with notice. Accommodation on Siding Spring mountain is unlikely to be available. 

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If you have technical problems in using the web-based submission process, please email tacinfo at mso.anu.edu.au.

Paul Francis
Chair, RSAA TAC
==============================
A/Prof. Paul Francis
Astrophysicist
Mt Stromlo Observatory, and the Physics Education Centre
College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences
Building 38a, Tel 02 6125 2824 or 8031
The Australian National University
Canberra ACT 0200 Australia
pfrancis at mso.anu.edu.au

http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/~pfrancis/
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