From Paul.Francis at anu.edu.au Tue Sep 16 11:56:02 2014 From: Paul.Francis at anu.edu.au (Paul Francis) Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 01:56:02 +0000 Subject: [ASA] Call for SkyMapper proposals References: Message-ID: Call for Proposals for non-survey time on the SkyMapper Telescope: Semester 2015A Application deadline: 23:59 15th October 2015 Nights available: --------------------- 36.5 for ANU-led proposals 11.0 for other Australian-led proposals Period 01 Jan to 30 June 2015; these nights will need to be distributed over different lunar phases in the long term, but not necessarily in any given semester. How to apply -------------- You can only apply for images that will not replicate the observations of the public SkyMapper Southern Sky Survey (all-sky dec < +2, 100 sec images in uv (6 visits) and griz (4 visits), operating until 2019). The SkyMapper team can prioritise public survey fields to a limited extend in any given semester. If you?d like a field to be observed with priority, please do not submit a proposal, but contact the SkyMapper team (christian.wolf at anu.edu.au) who will help on a best-effort basis. For instructions for proposals and information on SkyMapper please refer to https://www.mso.anu.edu.au/~skymap/instructions_SMprop.html Proposals should include a two-page scientific and technical justification. Please email to paul.francis at anu.edu.au before the deadline. If you do not receive confirmation that we?ve received your e-mail within 24 hours, please contact us again. Your proposal will be ranked by the ANU-TAC and, if successful, forwarded to the SkyMapper team for scheduling and robotic observation. All images will receive basic processing by the SkyMapper Science Data Pipeline alongside survey observations (and thus will be done in temporal order). Telescope Summary ----------------- SkyMapper is a 1.3m telescope with a 5.7 sq. deg. FoV and a 268 Megapixel camera. There are six primary filters (uvgriz), plus an H-alpha filter subject to strong scheduling constraints. If you have any questions not answered in the documentation, Chris Onken and Chris Wolf are able to help. (christopher.onken at anu.edu.au, christian.wolf at anu.edu.au) Paul Francis, Chair, ANU 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 paul.francis at anu.edu.au http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/~pfrancis/ CRICOS Provider #00120C -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bryan.gaensler at sydney.edu.au Tue Sep 16 16:36:51 2014 From: bryan.gaensler at sydney.edu.au (Bryan Gaensler) Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 14:36:51 +0800 Subject: [ASA] PASA Editorial Board - Call for Applications Message-ID: <9A03BD0F-9F75-4EFB-971E-B3AD1FB5FC27@sydney.edu.au> Dear colleagues, Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia (PASA) seeks two suitably qualified astronomers to join its Editorial Board for three-year terms, beginning January 2015. Applications can be made by sending a statement of strengths and suitability and a brief CV to the Chair of the PASA Editorial Board, Bryan Gaensler (bryan.gaensler at sydney.edu.au) by 31 Oct 2014. For full information, see http://sifa.org.au/PASA. (** Reminder: PASA is also seeking applications for a new Editor-in-Chief. Application deadline 30 Sep 2014 - see http://sifa.org.au/PASA-EIC. **) regards Bryan From andrew.hopkins at aao.gov.au Wed Sep 17 06:39:58 2014 From: andrew.hopkins at aao.gov.au (Andrew Hopkins) Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 06:39:58 +1000 Subject: [ASA] AAO Research Fellow position Message-ID: <5418A01E.6050806@aao.gov.au> Dear ASA members, I would like to draw your attention to the AAO Research Fellow opportunity that is currently being advertised: http://industryjobs.nga.net.au/cp/index.cfm?event=jobs.listJobs&jobListid=a8854bd1-f882-70f4-a958-5bf9f4f6022c&CurATC=DIISR&CurBID=62afb35d-9273-4a11-8dcc-9db401354197 The AAO seeks to appoint a 3 year Research Fellow. The successful candidate will carry out their own high profile and self directed astrophysical research program, as well as research in collaboration with other AAO research staff. The AAO Research Fellow will be supported by the AAO in developing their research programs, with 50% of their time available for research. They will be expected to assist in the operations of the Observatory for the remaining 50% of their time, taking on responsibility for one or more of the various support activities provided by the AAO. These include AAT Scheduler, Technical Secretary to the Australian Time Assignment Committee, coordinator of AAT Remote Observing Operations. The Fellow will be expected to provide observing support for visiting astronomers using the AAT. Candidates must have a PhD in astronomy, astrophysics or a related branch of experimental physics, and must have expertise in one of the following areas of observational interest at the AAO: optical spectroscopy, including the SAMI multiobject integral field spectrograph, the AAOmega multi-object fibre system, the HERMES high-resolution multi-object spectrograph, high-dispersion spectroscopy at the Coude focus, near-infrared imaging and spectroscopy, and future instrumentation for the AAT, Gemini, GMT, and other telescopes. Experience in high-resolution optical spectroscopy is desirable. The deadline for applications is 15 October 2014. Please feel free to circulate to anyone you think may be interested, and to contact me directly with any questions. Best regards, Andrew Hopkins -- 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 carterb at usq.edu.au Wed Sep 17 11:04:28 2014 From: carterb at usq.edu.au (Brad Carter) Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 11:04:28 +1000 Subject: [ASA] 2015 APA PhD Scholarships at USQ in Stellar Astronomy and Planetary Systems Message-ID: 2015 APA PhD Scholarships at USQ in Stellar Astronomy and Planetary Systems Astrophysics has become a strategic research field at the University of Southern Queensland, and as a result the Astrophysics Group in the Computational Engineering and Science Research Centre is expanding. As part of this expansion, applications are invited for APA scholarships for PhD studies in: * Astrobiology * Exoplanetary Science * Solar System Dynamics * Stellar Astrophysics The successful applicants will work on projects in the research field of Stellar Astronomy and Planetary Systems, with one of the successful scholarship holders receiving additional research funds to work with Dr. Jonti Horner on a computational project in orbital dynamics related to the study of Solar System Evolution, Exoplanetary Systems, or Astrobiology. Additional APA PhD scholarships should be available for observational research projects in Space Weather in Planetary Systems, with students working under the supervision of A/Prof Brad Carter and Dr Stephen Marsden. For more information view the website at: http://www.usq.edu.au/scholarships/usq/australian-postgraduate-award Enquiries can be emailed to astronomy at usq.edu.au. Applications close 31 October 2014 so early circulation of this announcement at your institution would be appreciated. *** From paul.lasky at unimelb.edu.au Wed Sep 17 20:53:41 2014 From: paul.lasky at unimelb.edu.au (Paul Daniel Lasky) Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 10:53:41 +0000 Subject: [ASA] Orange Pulsar Meeting in November Message-ID: Dear colleagues, The 2014 ?Orange? Pulsar Meeting will be held at The University of Melbourne on Wednesday 26th, Thursday 27th and Friday 28th of November, 2014. The meeting gathers a broad range of people interested in pulsar astrophysics in Australia, including both observational and theoretical aspects. This year, topics will include audio-band and nanohertz gravitational waves, neutron star interior modelling and pulsar astronomy. For more information and to register for the conference, please visit: http://ph.unimelb.edu.au/~pwc/orange2014/ We hope to see you all in Melbourne! Paul Lasky, Bryn Haskell and Andrew Melatos =========================== Dr Paul Lasky Postdoctoral Fellow School of Physics University of Melbourne www.ph.unimelb.edu.au/~laskyp Ph: +61 3 8344 5599 =========================== -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ausgo at aao.gov.au Thu Sep 18 15:08:15 2014 From: ausgo at aao.gov.au (Australian Gemini Office) Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 15:08:15 +1000 Subject: [ASA] Call for Magellan Proposals in Semester 2015A Message-ID: <541A68BF.8090505@aao.gov.au> 2015A Call for Magellan Proposals Proposals for Australian access to the Magellan telescopes for Semester 2015A (mid-Jan to mid-Jul 2015) are due by: *5:00pm AEST, Tuesday 7 October 2014 * (A separate call for Gemini and Subaru proposals in Semester 2015A with a 30 Sep 2014 deadline was issued earlier - please see http://ausgo.aao.gov.au/cfp.html) What's new for Semester 2015A? ------------------------------ * Applicants must use the AAO's new Lens proposal submission system for Magellan proposals, similar to the AAT proposal submission system. Lens is an account-based system with user registration. *All investigators on an ATAC proposal for Magellan must be registered with the system*. Users who have applied for AAT or Magellan time as PI in the past four semesters (i.e. starting from 2013A) have had accounts pre-configured, and should already have received an email with their login details. Please ask your collaborators to register well in advance of the proposal deadline. * There will be a single f/5 (Megacam/MMIRS) block, most likely in February 2015, as well as a single adaptive optics MagAO run in May/June 2015. * A new CCD camera with much-improved red sensitivity has recently been commissioned and is now the default detector for LDSS3, although programs focusing on bluer wavelengths will have the option to use the original CCD in certain blocks. Interested PIs should contact Jacob Bean (jbean at cfa.harvard.edu) about the new CCD before applying. Complete information about all Magellan instrumentation on offer, travel funding, and the application procedure is available at http://ausgo.aao.gov.au/magellan.html. For any enquiries about Australian usage of Magellan please contact the AAO's International Telescopes Support Office (ausgo at aao.gov.au). Stuart Ryder Head of International Telescopes Support Australian Astronomical Observatory -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From andrew.green at aao.gov.au Fri Sep 19 11:46:07 2014 From: andrew.green at aao.gov.au (Andy Green) Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 11:46:07 +1000 Subject: [ASA] 2dfdr "Rockhopper" (6.00) update released Message-ID: <0BAF9CFD-92A1-4897-9A5D-7C10C0D7E0E6@aao.gov.au> 2dfdr "Rockhopper" (6.00) update released Dear Users of 2dfdr, The AAO is proud to announce a new public release of our flagship fibre-data-reduction software, 2dfdr. Considerable effort has gone into improving the scientific quality of the data reduction, as well as improvements to the package's usability. The new version, code named "Rockhopper", is available from the AAO's website: http://www.aao.gov.au/science/software/2dfdr Also, please subscribe to the 2dfdr newsletter (on the same page) for future updates on this package. Changes and improvements to the software Tramline tracking accuracy is improved to ~0.1pixel across all currently supported instruments Optimal extraction routines have been extensively revisited: Routines are more stable (resulting in fewer pixels incorrectly marked bad) Variance estimation is much more accurate 2dfdr now supports HERMES, KOALA and SAMI data Tramline mapping in extremely sparse fields has been improved A b-spline scattered light option has been added to optimal extraction Reduction messages are now shown in the user interface, and can be saved to file. All the settings of the current session can be saved to ".idx" configuration files for future use. Plotting widget is more user-friendly, although most old keyboard shortcuts still work Plotting multiple items simultaneously is now possible Additional diagnostic plots and output have been added. Reduction directory structure has been cleaned up, with some files now appearing in corresponding sub-directories. Wavelength model prediction for AAOmega rewritten. Our bug zapper has been used extensively, most notably to remove a crippling memory leak. Source code has been made available. Removal of dependence on external libraries What does this mean for my data? The tramline mapping and optimal extraction improvements above affect data quality at a fundamental level. Therefore, we have seen many improvements in testing in "higher level" data reduction quantifiers. Better splicing for AAOmega data. Better sky subtraction. More stable wavelength solutions, especially for high-dispersion SPIRAL data Fewer negative spectra Less "ringing" around bright sky emission lines Scientifically useable variance estimates from optimal extraction Fewer bad/invalid pixels in the output data Future Improvements The working group will continue to improve 2dfdr. The following improvements are anticipated for future releases. Better stability for the wavelength solution in HERMES data. Improved wavelength solution accuracy for HERMES data, greater than 0.1 pixel. Implementation of a variable width PSF for the fibre traces across the detector. We recommend that anyone looking to improve the quality of their existing data consider re-reducing archival data with this new release. The improvements to the software are in thanks to the hard work of the 2dfdr Working Group, which combines astronomers from the community with the research and technical staff at the AAO. Particular thanks to Mike Birchall, who is the primary 2dfdr developer. Thanks also to many GALAH, SAMI, and OzDES team members who have beta tested the many incarnations on their data. Anyone with an interest in improving their science by contributing to the future development of 2dfdr is encouraged to contact myself. Bug reports are always appreciated, and should be directed to your support astronomer, or to myself at andrew.green at aao.gov.au Cheers, Andy Green Chair 2dfdr Working Group -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From yeshe.fenner at astronomyaustralia.org.au Fri Sep 19 16:47:38 2014 From: yeshe.fenner at astronomyaustralia.org.au (Yeshe Fenner) Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 16:47:38 +1000 Subject: [ASA] AAL Board and Committee vacancies: Applications due 3rd October 2014 Message-ID: Dear ASA members, Astronomy Australia Ltd (AAL ) will shortly have vacancies on its Board and Committees. Applications for Board and Committee positions are due by *4PM AEST on Friday 3rd October 2014.* Please see the following advertisements for more details: - Non-Executive Directors advertisement - AAL Committee Membership advertisement AAL encourages applications from everyone with the appropriate expertise and skills. We have a target of at least 25% female representation on its Board and Committees, and strongly encourages applications from women. Kind regards, Yeshe ______________________________ Dr Yeshe Fenner Executive Officer Astronomy Australia Ltd T: 03 9214 5520 M: 0430 708 995 F: 03 9214 4396 E: yeshe.fenner at astronomyaustralia.org.au W: astronomyaustralia.org.au P: P.O. Box 2100 Hawthorn VIC 3122 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: