[ASA] AAT Proposal Call (Semester 2013B): deadline 5PM, 15 March 2013

[AAT Technical Secretary]

           Call for AAT proposals in Semester 2013B

The proposal deadline for AAT time in Semester 13B (1 August 2013
to 31 January 2014) is:

       **Friday, 15 March 2013, at 17:00** (AEDT, i.e. UTC + 11 hrs)

Proposals can be submitted from the 1st of March 2013 using the AAT 
online proposal form, and are welcome from astronomers worldwide.

General information on applying for AAT time can be found at:
http://www.aao.gov.au/astro/apply/ATAC_AAT.html

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Important notes for 13A applicants:


* Large Programs: The AAO is inviting proposals for Large Observing 
Programs (those requiring 50 nights or more, possibly over several 
semesters) to begin in Semester 13B. Please contact the ATAC Secretary, 
Helen Woods (hmw - at - aao.gov.au), well in advance of submitting this 
kind of proposal. Details are available at 
http://www.aao.gov.au/AAO/astro/Large_Programs_RfP_13B.pdf.

* HERMES availability in semester 13B: AAO expects to begin 
commissioning on the HERMES spectrograph during semester 13A, and it is 
available in "shared-risk" mode for normal program proposals in semester 
13B. Questions about expected instrument performance should be directed 
to the HERMES Project Scientist, Gayandhi de Silva (gdesilva - at - 
aao.gov.au).

* CTIO/DECam time-swap arrangement: The AAO and NOAO/CTIO have initiated 
a time-swap arrangement, to allow our respective communities to maximise 
the scientific facilities and opportunities to which we have access. The 
DECam imager on the 4m Blanco telescope is available, having completed 
commissioning and Science Verification. CTIO are working on recovery of 
the f/8 secondary mirror, meaning that f/8 instruments (the ISPI IR 
imager and the Hydra multi-object optical spectrograph) are available in 
"shared-risk" mode in semester 13B. All scheduled observations in 13B 
will be carried out in classical mode with observers required to travel 
to the telescope.

In Semester 13B there will be 5 nights available to the Australian 
community to apply for CTIO time.

Those who wish to apply for this time should do so using the regular AAT 
proposal form, selecting CTIO/DECam, CTIO/ISPI or CTIO/Hydra in the 
"instrument" section. Links to the CTIO webpages for further information 
about the telescope and instrument capabilities are given below, and 
will also be available from the proposal form:

     http://www.ctio.noao.edu/noao/content/dark-energy-camera-decam

     http://www.ctio.noao.edu/noao/content/ispi

     http://www.ctio.noao.edu/noao/content/hydra

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.

* Remote observing:  From Semester 13B the AAO will be encouraging 
remote observing from AAO headquarters as an option for all AAT 
instruments. Remote observing from the AAO's North Ryde headquarters has 
been successfully demonstrated for UCLES, IRIS2 and 2dF+AAOmega. 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. 
Observers who wish to carry out their observations remotely should 
contact the Acting Director, Andrew Hopkins, at director - at - aao.gov.au.

* Change in proposal page limits: ATAC reminds the community that page 
limits and formatting requirements for AAT proposals are strictly 
enforced. The main science case of your proposal should be no more than 
three pages long, and this semester ATAC is requesting a maximum of two 
pages for the Science Case and a maximum of one page for Technical 
Justification. All figures and references must also fit within those 
three pages. Excessively long or dense proposals will be rejected 
without review. Please see the section "How to Apply for AAT Time" 
online for further guidance on the form and content of AAT proposals.

* The number of available AAT nights for 13B is approximately:
Bright: 39, Grey: 32 and Dark: 65.

This is the current best estimate; however, the actual numbers may vary 
between now and the final telescope schedule.

-- 
Sarah Martell
AAT Technical Secretary
aatts - at - aao.gov.au