[ASA] ESO Period 104 Call for Proposals

Fri Mar 1 11:51:30 AEDT 2019

ESO Period 104 Call for Proposals

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has released the Call for Proposals
for Period 104 (for observations between 1 October 2019 - 31 March 2020).
Under the terms of the Strategic Partnership between ESO and Australia,
Australian-based astronomers have access to the facilities of the La Silla
and Paranal Observatories, specifically the:

*	3.6-m telescope;
*	New Technology Telescope (NTT);
*	Very Large Telescope (VLT);
*	Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI);
*	Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA); and
*	VLT Survey Telescope (VST).

The proposal deadline is Thursday 28 March 2019 at noon Central European
Time (10pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time, 7pm Australian Western Standard
Time).

Complete details on how to apply can be found at
https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/k-g8Cp8AJQtgn5MBhPOsRa?domain=eso.org. All
applicants should consult the Call for Proposals document for Period 104
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/WlzQCq7BKYtg890ohX1cMX?domain=eso.org> , and will require
an  <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/1tNcCr8DLRty8xVGc4YSVe?domain=eso.org> ESO User Portal account to submit
proposals.

A wealth of information for Australian applicants can be found on AAL's
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/6QrCCvl0PoCJ7vN3UA462W?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au> Australian ESO Forum.
Check out the ESO Blog post
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/efjaCwVLQmi5Go8Ws1h4pI?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au>  by
Swinburne PhD student Colin Jacobs on his experiences observing at Paranal,
as well as recent posts from our STC representative Mike Ireland
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/mjXzCxnMRvtp1ZM3tW16eF?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au
030-a-key-conference-for-australia>  and UC representative Caroline Foster
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/3NWbCyoNVrcGrYXRFPFjub?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au
bruary-2019> . The  <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/PRexCzvOWKiXMKgAcMYuFV?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au>
ESO Collaboratory is open to enable users to share and discuss ideas for
collaborative proposals.

Registration is now open for the ESO workshop on "The VLT in 2030
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/i63fCANZvPixNj6zuB_naZ?domain=eso.org> ", to be held in
Garching from 17-21 June 2019. Australian users of the VLT are strongly
encouraged to attend this pivotal meeting to help shape the future
operations and instrumentation complement of the VLT/I in the era of ESO's
Extremely Large Telescope and the Giant Magellan Telescope.

Given the demand for the new Narrow Field AO mode of MUSE, and commitment of
Guaranteed Time Observations in P104, the oversubscription for MUSE on UT4
is likely to remain extremely high for some time. Potential users of MUSE
are therefore encouraged to consider whether other ESO instruments with
lower demand may enable their science needs to be met. For instance KMOS on
UT1, X-Shooter on UT2, and SPHERE on UT3 all offer an IFU capability, often
with a smaller field of view but also a larger wavelength range than MUSE.

What's new in Period 104?

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the expected changes in
instrumentation offered and procedures for Period 104 given in
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/bzIxCBNZwLix7v6OuQ_iX4?domain=eso.org>
Sec. 1.1 of the Call for Proposals. Among the items likely to be of most
interest to the Australian community are:

*	Institutional codes updated: The list of recognised Australian
institutes and their codes
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/SkHHCD1jy9t75XvkhvStd7?domain=eso.org
=%20Australia>  to be used in preparing Phase 1 proposals with the ESOFORM
package has been significantly revised. All Australian users who intend to
participate in a P104 proposal should first login to their User Portal
account, go to the "Manage Profile" section, and check/update their
institutional affiliation from the drop-down menu. If your institution does
not appear in the list, please select "Other" then contact the Observing
Programmes Office (opo at eso.org <mailto:opo at eso.org> ) to have your
institution added.
*	No Large Programme proposals accepted in P105: From Period 104,
Large Programme proposals will only be accepted once per year during even
Periods. Large Programme observations can start in either Period 104 or
Period 105, but can only extend up to Period 107 at most.
*	Restrictions on Large and Monitoring Programmes: New Large and
Monitoring Programmes are offered on the VLTI using either the ATs or the
UTs for GRAVITY
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/UIKwCE8kz9tw3B9NukQtsJ?domain=eso.org> ,
MATISSE
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/xVtHCGvmB5ir1wYQUP1IGH?domain=eso.org>  and
PIONIER
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/qYpjCJyp0qhkqxrDhYhdco?domain=eso.org> .
Normal, Monitoring and Large Programme proposals will be accepted for
OmegaCAM
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/Jsq7CK1qJZtQ2LEGFNs23t?domain=eso.org>  on
VST and VIRCAM
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/pwn0CL7rK8t0RLjZh4tTqb?domain=eso.org>  on
VISTA without restrictions on atmospheric conditions, lunar phase or RA
range, with both instruments expected to be available until Period 107.
Large Programmes are not offered for EFOSC2
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/pvRRCMwvLQTpqjOAtYmKoE?domain=eso.org>  or SOFI
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/SrdBCNLwM9iY0olGhgFnPf?domain=eso.org>  on the
NTT since these instruments are expected to be decommissioned in upcoming
Periods for the installation of SOXS
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/wpSZCOMxNytDp3RyHBYkme?domain=eso.org> .
*	Impending changes in instrument availability and performance:

*	NACO
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/T33uCP7yOZtBKQGktkdf_O?domain=eso.org>  and
SINFONI
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/HV0yCQnzP0tnk7AyS0bwly?domain=eso.org>  will
be decommissioned in Period 103 and are therefore not offered.
*	VISIR
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/inVMCROAQotwvNmzu2J2pd?domain=eso.org>  is
offered with restrictions on the Cassegrain focus of UT4 during the first
half of Period 104. It is expected to be back at the Cassegrain focus of
UT3, with all functionalities, during the second half of Period 104,
following its use for the New Earths in the Alpha Cen Region (NEAR
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/gjUKCVAGXPtVxMwRH1Q5SP?domain=eso.org
r-no169-16-20.pdf> ) experiment on UT4.
*	The Nasmyth A focus of UT1 is available as of mid-November 2019 for
a Visitor Instrument, while the Cassegrain focus of UT3 will be available
during the first half of Period 104. Interested users are invited to consult
the Visitor Focus instructions
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/sEnDCWLJY7i1509WIXTsJ2?domain=eso.org
.html> .
*	The performance of ESPRESSO
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/qULtCXLKZoilXm5zCpjs95?domain=eso.org>  in
4-UT mode is expected to improve following an intervention in April 2019.
*	Full characterisation of the performance and operational
requirements of MUSE + GALACSI
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/AERDCYWL1viKL514Ig4bJ0?domain=eso.org>  in Narrow
Field Mode will be improved during Period 103. All other MUSE modes are
available for Large Programmes.

*	Observing at La Silla: There is a minimum length of three nights for
runs to be executed with La Silla telescopes. On the NTT, users can apply
for combined runs using both EFOSC2 and SOFI. The total duration of each of
these runs must be at least three nights. The combined runs must be
requested using the instrument name "SOFOSC". Designated Visitor Mode (DVM)
at La  Silla is offered on a best-effort basis. If you would like to use DVM
on either the 3.6-m telescope or the NTT you are requested to contact
<mailto:opo at eso.org> opo at eso.org well before the proposal submission
deadline.
*	Duration of one night: Proposers are reminded that one night in
Visitor Mode is defined to be 8 hours in even Periods and 10 hours in odd
Periods on all ESO telescopes.
*	Lunar Phase: Proposers should note that setting the Moon requirement
to 'n' in Box 3 of the ESOFORM Phase 1 proposal form means 'no Moon
restriction' rather than 'no Moon'. Proposers must instead set the Moon
requirement to 'd' if they require dark time.
*	Observing mode on the VLT: Departures from the observing mode
requested by the proposers may be implemented by ESO so as to achieve a
balanced distribution between Service Mode and Visitor Mode. Visitor mode
runs are encouraged for those users who have never visited Paranal, even if
the observations are straightforward.  Users should make use of Box 8b of
the ESOFORM Phase 1 proposal form to justify their preferred mode or why an
alternative mode should also be considered.

______________________________

Dr. Stuart Ryder
Program Manager (Mon, Wed, Fri)
Astronomy Australia Ltd.

T: 02 9850 9372

F: 03 9214 4396
E: stuart.ryder at astronomyaustralia.org.au
<mailto:stuart.ryder at astronomyaustralia.org.au> 

W:  <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/JGX-CZYM2VF15z4pIrBF6M?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au> www.astronomyaustralia.org.au 

P: P.O. Box 2100  Hawthorn  VIC  3122

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AAL is committed to equity and diversity and endeavours to create an
environment in which every individual is treated with dignity and respect.

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