[ASA] Reminder: Call for Gemini, Magellan, and Blanco proposals in Semester 2017A

[International Telescopes Support Office]

We would like to take this opportunity to remind the community that 
proposals for ATAC time on the Gemini, Blanco, and Magellan telescopes 
in 2017A close shortly.

Stuart Ryder
International Telescopes Support Office
#ITSOaao

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      Gemini 8m telescopes

Proposal deadline: *5pm AEST, Friday 30 September 2016*
Instrumentation: https://www.aao.gov.au/itso/gemini/instruments
How to apply: https://www.aao.gov.au/itso/gemini/apply


        What's new in 2017A?

  *

    Astronomy Australia Ltd and the AAO have secured a limited-term
    partnership in Gemini for 2017, providing a total of 7 classical
    nights over Semesters 2017A and 2017B split between Gemini North and
    Gemini South. ATAC will have up to 2 classical nights on Gemini
    North plus 2 classical nights on Gemini South to allocate in 2017A.
    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.

  *

    The Phoenix high resolution near-infrared spectrograph will be
    available as a visitor instrument at Gemini South in 2017A, while
    the TEXES high resolution mid-infrared spectrograph will be
    available as a visitor instrument at Gemini North in February 2017.

  *

    Gemini North will not be available from Monday July 10 2017 to the
    end of the semester, for work on the dome. Gemini North will also
    have dome shutter restrictions in place through 2017A.

  *

    GMOS-North will not available February 1 through March 19 2017 for
    installation and commissioning of the Hamamatsu CCDs. Investigators
    should however use the EEV-DD CCD option when using the GMOS-N ITC
    for Semester 2017A.

  *

    The non-redundant mask in the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) will be
    offered for Semester 2017A, 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.


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      Blanco 4m telescope

Proposal deadline: *5pm AEST, Friday 30 September 2016*
Instrumentation: https://www.aao.gov.au/itso/blanco/instruments
How to apply: https://www.aao.gov.au/itso/blanco/apply


        What's new in 2017A?

  *

    In Semester 2017A there will be 5 nights available to the Australian
    community to apply for. The Dark Energy Survey (DES) has been
    granted 105 nights per year, for five years, on the Blanco
    Telescope. In 2017A the first half of the nights of February 1-8 and
    15-18 are allocated to DES. NOAO has also pre-committed 22 full
    nights during 2017A for the DECals survey. The specific nights
    allocated are: Feb 28; March 1-5 and 26-31; April 18-21; and May 18-23.

  *

    It is possible that the primary mirror of the Blanco telescope will
    be re-coated towards the end of 2017A, which will require a 3-4 week
    engineering block; whether this happens and exactly when will not be
    finally decided until the telescope is scheduled in November.


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      Magellan 6.5m telescopes

Proposal deadline: *5pm AEST, Friday 7 October 2016*
Instrumentation: https://www.aao.gov.au/itso/magellan/instruments
How to apply: https://www.aao.gov.au/itso/magellan/apply


        What's new in 2017A?

  *

    There will be a single MegaCam f/5 block in 2017A.

  *

    There will be a 14 night shared risk science run with MagAO in early
    2017. The new CLIO detector will be installed in time for this run.

  *

    PFS will be unavailable for the second half of 2017A for an upgrade
    to the CCD camera, spectrograph alignment, and slit input mechanism.

  *

    The Parallel Imager for Southern Cosmology Observations (PISCO)
    provides simultaneous imaging in the 4 SDSS bands g', r', i', and z'
    over a 7.3 x 5.4 arcminute field of view at 0.11 arcsec/pixel. PISCO
    is a PI instrument and is only available via collaborative
    arrangement with the instrument team. Contact Tony Stark
    (astark at cfa.harvard.edu) before submitting a proposal.

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