[ASA] Call for Australian Subaru Proposals in Semester 2018B

[International Telescopes Support Office]

      2018B Call for Australian Subaru proposals


Proposals for Australian time on the Subaru 8.2m telescope on Mauna Kea 
in Semester 2018B (1 Aug 2018 - 31 January 2019) are due by

*2:00pm AEDT, Thursday 8 March 2018.*

Separate calls for Magellan and Blanco proposals in Semester 2018B, as 
well as ESO access in Period 102 (Oct 2018 - Mar 2019) will be issued 
shortly.


      Background

The Subaru 8.2 metre 
telescope<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/nqV7CjZrzqH3N04WtWt21o?domain=subarutelescope.org> located 
on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii is operated by the National 
Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/QW9PCk8vAZtrGvyxcVyNnT?domain=nao.ac.jp>). In 
December 2016 Astronomy Australia Ltd negotiated a new collaborative 
program with NAOJ, providing 5 nights in Semester 2018A and 5 nights in 
Semester 2018B for the Australian community on the Subaru telescope. 
Australia is also making technical contributions to the Subaru program, 
and Japanese astronomers will get access to 4 nights on the AAT in 2018. 
Following the end of AAL's access to the Gemini and Keck telescopes 
after Semester 2017B, Subaru is now the only northern hemisphere 
facility available to the entire Australian community in 2018.


      Instruments

The facility instruments currently available on Subaru are:

  * AO 188
    <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/vytyClxwB5CA4lwQUy5vju?domain=subarutelescope.org>,
    a 188 element natural or laser guide star adaptive optics system
    delivering diffraction-limited images in the near infrared to
    instruments including IRCS, SCExAO, and CHARIS.
  * COMICS<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/texHCmOxDQtA4qoOU99vpc?domain=naoj.org>, a
    mid-infrared camera and spectrograph covering wavelengths from
    7.5-25 microns.
  * FOCAS
    <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/7AG_CnxyErCKBVZ8Cm4ymR?domain=subarutelescope.org>
    provides optical imaging, longslit and multi-slit spectroscopy over
    a 6 arcmin field of view.
  * HDS <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/6B5ACoVzGQiBWmVOFod-7F?domain=naoj.org>, an optical
    high dispersion spectrograph with a resolution up to R=160,000.
  * HSC<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/MBd0Cp8AJQtv6Z0YS7VE52?domain=subarutelescope.org>
    provides optical imaging over a 1.5 degree diameter field of view.
  * IRCS<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/KpBlCq7BKYtzwvyqfvM86Y?domain=naoj.org>, a
    near-infrared (0.9-5.6 microns) camera with coronagraphic and
    polarimetric modes, as well as longslit spectroscopy with resolution
    up to R=20,000. IRCS is normally used in conjunction with natural or
    laser guide star adaptive optics fed by AO188.
  * MOIRCS<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/zvqiCr8DLRt1JORgHLa4lB?domain=naoj.org> provides
    imaging and low-resolution longslit or multi-object spectroscopy
    from 0.9-2.5 microns over a 4 x 7 arcmin field of view.

In addition some visitor instruments are available by collaboration with 
the instrument PI:

  * SCExAO <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/e6V-Cvl0PoC2VZnQFEW9NZ?domain=naoj.org> delivers
    high contrast images of the innermost surroundings of bright sources.
  * CHARIS<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/xrtOCwVLQmiArnEBUXpMkf?domain=scholar.princeton.edu> provides near-infrared
    coronagraphic imaging and low-resolution spectroscopy of exoplanets,
    disks, and brown dwarfs with SCExAO+AO188.
  * VAMPIRES<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/595bCxnMRvt9Nj5Yf0wdh3?domain=naoj.org>
    enables diffraction-limited imaging in the visible with polarimetric
    capabilities.
  * IRD <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/LykQCyoNVrc0V3PxsvQfvm?domain=ird.mtk.nao.ac.jp> - Infrared
    Doppler - provides high spectral resolution echelle spectroscopy and
    radial velocity measurements from 0.97 to 1.75 um simultaneously
    combined with AO188.

  Further information on Subaru instruments can be found on the Subaru 
Instrumentation 
page<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/SicVCzvOWKixVzY5TWWFt2?domain=subarutelescope.org>.


      Applying for time

The policies and process for Australian access to Subaru time are as 
follows:

 1. Researchers affiliated with a research institution in Australia at
    the time of application can submit proposals as a PI.
 2. Collaboration with Japanese astronomers is encouraged, but is not a
    requirement for submitting a proposal.
 3. Full details on proposal submission can be found on the Subaru
    proposals page <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/rD5_CANZvPinq5Kkh1jTBu?domain=naoj.org>.
    Australian proposals should be submitted directly to Subaru using
    the Subaru ProMS (Proposal Management System
    <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/ccHYCBNZwLiM2NXYtX0CTX?domain=subarutelescope.org>).
    You will need to register for a ProMS account if you do not already
    have one.
 4. *Applicants are required to explicitly specify **"[AUS Time]"**in
    the title of their proposals to distinguish these from regular
    proposals*. **Applications from Australia which do not include this
    in the title will still be considered for Subaru open-use time.
 5. Australian time has the following restrictions:
      * Time exchange programs (proposals to use Gemini or Keck
        instruments) are not eligible.
      * Service mode programs, ToO programs, and HSC queue-mode programs
        are not eligible. This is because for these programs the
        execution is not guaranteed. Proposals using HSC will be
        executed in classical mode.
      * Subaru Intensive program proposals are not eligible.
 6. Australian proposals for Subaru time will be assessed and ranked by
    the Subaru TAC. Proposals will be made available to ATAC for their
    consideration, and the ATAC Chair will be given the opportunity to
    convey ATAC's view of the relative merits of each proposal to the
    Subaru TAC.
 7. The Subaru TAC will allocate observing time to the Australian
    proposals in the order of proposal score until the total number of
    nights allocated reaches five, even if their scores are below the
    threshold for normal proposals to be approved.
 8. If, when the total number of nights allocated to the Australian
    proposals reaches five, there are more Australian proposals above
    the threshold for normal proposals to be approved, the Subaru TAC
    will still allocate observation time to them as a part of open-use time.
 9. Australian programs will be executed in classical mode, meaning the
    observer(s) should be present either at the Mauna Kea summit or NAOJ
    Mitaka HQ remote observing room. *AAL is currently considering
    whether observer travel funding will be made available to Australian
    Subaru users in 2018B.* An announcement is expected prior to the
    Subaru 2018B proposal deadline of 8 March 2018.


      Need help?

Further information about Australian access to Subaru can be found at on 
the Subaru ITSO web pages <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/B7-pCD1jy9tnGZL4hXvc_d?domain=aao.gov.au>. Please 
direct any questions to the International Telescopes Support Office 
(itso at aao.gov.au) at the AAO.


Stuart Ryder
Head of International Telescopes Support
#ITSOaao
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