From trevor.mendel at anu.edu.au Mon Aug 12 09:29:35 2019 From: trevor.mendel at anu.edu.au (Trevor Mendel) Date: Sun, 11 Aug 2019 23:29:35 +0000 Subject: [ASA] ANU - RSAA Summer Research Scholarships 2019-2020 Message-ID: Dear colleagues, Applications are now open for the 2019-2020 Summer Research Scholarships at the Australian National University's Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics. I would be grateful if you could draw this scheme to the attention of your undergraduate students, and encourage them to apply. The closing date for applications is 31st August 2019. The SRS program provides an exceptional opportunity for undergraduate students to get a taste of graduate life by participating in a research project under the supervision of staff at Mount Stromlo Observatory. The program will last for approximately 9 weeks from 25th November 2019 to 24th January 2020 (TBC). A Summer Research Scholarship at RSAA includes full accommodation and board on the ANU campus, a weekly allowance, and return travel to Canberra. The Research Scholarship provides a chance to do active research with Astronomers. Scholars are given training on writing scientific reports and giving presentations, and are usually also given the opportunity to visit the telescopes and facilities at Siding Spring Observatory, Parkes and Narrabri. The program is open to suitably qualified undergraduate students in the third or final year of their degrees who are currently enrolled at an Australian or New Zealand university. Outstanding second-year students may also be considered. For more details, including a list of available research projects, please visit:https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/R48BCXLKZoiRMypmF6Ut8k?domain=rsaa.anu.edu.au To apply, follow the instructions at: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/aLaqCYWL1viq6JG5sGUDMY?domain=programsandcourses.anu.edu.au Enquiries are welcome and may be directed to: * Dr Trevor Mendel (trevor.mendel at anu.edu.au) - RSAA summer scholar coordinator * Ms Astrid Bardelang (rsaa.sa at anu.edu.au) - ANU student administration coordinator -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: SCI181822 RSAA SRS flyer_v1A (002) 2019.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 934743 bytes Desc: SCI181822 RSAA SRS flyer_v1A (002) 2019.pdf URL: From Chenoa.Tremblay at csiro.au Mon Aug 12 10:18:22 2019 From: Chenoa.Tremblay at csiro.au (Tremblay, Chenoa (CASS, Kensington WA)) Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2019 00:18:22 +0000 Subject: [ASA] 2019 CSIRO Radio Astronomy School In-Reply-To: <7EFE1CCF-CFD4-44CF-9078-C1723FA6AD73@csiro.au> References: <7EFE1CCF-CFD4-44CF-9078-C1723FA6AD73@csiro.au> Message-ID: Dear All, I am happy to announce that registration for the 2019 Radio School is now open. The school will take place at the site of the Australian Telescope Compact Array in Narrabri NSW from 30 September to 4 October 2019. Spaces are limited to 40 students and we ask that you register by 1 September 2019 so we make sure to have enough food and space for everyone. We have a week packed full of lectures and tutorials from Australian and International speakers about single dish observation, interferometers, basics of radio astronomy and the science we can do with this data. See the website for more details. Registration can be completed at https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/MCZQCmOxDQt3R62ptGXxOr?domain=atnf.csiro.au. Students will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Regards, Dr. Chenoa Tremblay Post-Doctoral Fellow in Dark Magnetism E chenoa.tremblay at csiro.au CSIRO Astronomy & Space Science 26 Dick Perry Avenue Kensington www.csiro.au -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lucyna.chudczer at astronomyaustralia.org.au Tue Aug 13 09:50:26 2019 From: lucyna.chudczer at astronomyaustralia.org.au (Lucyna Chudczer) Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2019 09:50:26 +1000 Subject: [ASA] Future of the AAT Workshop: October 31st, 2019; University of New South Wales, Sydney In-Reply-To: <7D7B2034-0080-48D0-A932-FA1F327EE074@anu.edu.au> References: <006c01d55163$0ec68100$2c538300$@astronomyaustralia.org.au> <7D7B2034-0080-48D0-A932-FA1F327EE074@anu.edu.au> Message-ID: <008201d55168$b71e90e0$255bb2a0$@astronomyaustralia.org.au> Future of the AAT Workshop: October 31st, 2019; University of New South Wales, Sydney Dear Colleagues, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, on behalf of the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) Council, is hosting a one-day workshop on the future of the AAT, on October 31st, 2019. The purpose of the workshop is to collect views of the community on possible future uses of the AAT, potential new instruments, and operational models for the AAT beyond June 2025. The workshop is attendance free but we request that you register under the following link https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/6yLrC6X13Rtv02QMtpL-Tr?domain=eventbrite.com.au to help with the planning for catering requirements. Leading up to the workshop (from 9 to 20 September) will be a series of Town Hall Meetings attended by the SSO Director, Chris Lidman and the members of the AAT Council at various locations within Australia. Dates, locations and a list of the local contacts at each location are as follows. Week 1: September 9-13 Monday 09 September, Perth, ICRAR/UWA Seminar room, 1-3pm, local contact: Luke Davies > Tuesday 10 September, Brisbane, UQ, St Lucia, building 6, room 407,1-2:30pm, local contacts: Brad Carter > and Tamara Davis > Thursday 12 September, Sydney , USyd, A28, School of Physics, Lecture theatre 2, 1-3pm, local contact: Nicholas Scott > Week 2: September 16-20 Monday, 16 September, Canberra, RSAA, CSO building, 10am ? noon, local contact: Sree Oh > Tuesday, 17 September, Hobart, UTas , Auscope Control Room, 4th floor, Physics Building, 12-1:30pm, local contact: Andrew Cole > Wednesday, 18 September, Melbourne, Swinburne VR theatre (AR104), 2-3:30pm, local contact? Chris Blake > There is scope to organise additional meetings at other locations in Australia if required. We hope to see you at the Town Hall Meetings and at the Workshop. Regards, Lucyna Kedziora-Chudczer Dr Lucyna Kedziora-Chudczer Program Manager Astronomy Australia Ltd (Sydney Office) E: lucyna.chudczer at astronomyaustralia.org.au W: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/xLEJC81Zj6t0PVnQT26DNp?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au AAL is committed to equity and diversity and endeavours to create an environment in which every individual is treated with dignity and respect. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 1037 bytes Desc: not available URL: From mcluver at swin.edu.au Tue Aug 13 13:07:37 2019 From: mcluver at swin.edu.au (Michelle Cluver) Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2019 03:07:37 +0000 Subject: [ASA] Swinburne Vacation Scholarship Programme 2019 Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, Please circulate to potentially interested students: The Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing (CAS) is currently accepting applications for Vacation Scholarships from enthusiastic university students, with excellent scholastic records, who are in the last, or second last, year of their undergraduate or Honours/Masters degree. With 23 research faculty and more than 40 postdoctoral researchers and PhD students, CAS is a vibrant, friendly environment for studying most fields of astronomy. Swinburne astronomers have guaranteed access to the twin Keck 10-m Telescopes in Hawaii - the world's premier optical observatory - and CAS owns and operates one of Australia's most powerful supercomputers - Ozstar. We also develop advanced, immersive 3D data visualization facilities and create 3D animations and movies promoting and explaining astronomy to the broader community. This programme is open to undergraduates at Australian & New Zealand universities. Applications from students outside of Australia & New Zealand with exceptional scholastic records may also be considered. Scholarships will generally last between 8 and 10 weeks, to be negotiated between the student and their nominated supervisor. Vacation Scholars are paid a tax-free stipend of $500 per week. Further information can be found at: http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/study/vacstudents.html Applications should include the following: - A cover letter (see below for further information); - A copy of your official academic record, including an explanation of the grading system used; - Your Curriculum Vitae; - Any supporting documentation of previous research. - Applicants should also ask a lecturer or supervisor at their current university to send a letter of recommendation. This should be sent by the lecturer/supervisor directly; applicants should not include reference letters in their own application. Applications will be considered on an ongoing basis. However, we strongly recommend all applications be sent in before September 15. Please send application materials to Dr Michelle Cluver (mcluver at swin.edu.au). Best regards, Michelle -- Dr Michelle Cluver ARC Future Fellow, Senior Lecturer Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing Swinburne University of Technology PO Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia +61 3 9214 3484 http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/~mcluver/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ska at industry.gov.au Tue Aug 13 16:03:47 2019 From: ska at industry.gov.au (Australian SKA Office) Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2019 06:03:47 +0000 Subject: [ASA] SKA Project Director's Update - August 2019 [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED] Message-ID: <788f3d827ee04430807c28d66fca1e5a@PPAC01EXC008.PROD.PROTECTED.IND> Dear colleagues The following is the latest update on the Square Kilometre Array from David Luchetti, Australian SKA Project Director. It will be available soon on our website at www.ska.gov.au. Australian SKA Project Director's Update - August 2019 Welcome to the latest edition of the Australian SKA Project Director's Update, where I give a rundown on developments in building the next generation of radio astronomy capability. For years I've been providing updates on progress towards building the world's largest and most sensitive radio telescope, but really the SKA is bigger than that. The SKA Observatory is due to be established in mid-2020, not just to manage the two SKA telescope arrays currently being designed, but to facilitate a global approach to cutting-edge radio astronomy for generations to come. Getting the SKA Observatory right is the crucial first step in delivering on its member countries' astronomical ambitions. The SKA partnership is working together to develop a range of foundational policies around things like membership, telescope access, procurement, intellectual property and operations - all of which will be considered by the SKA Observatory Council when it comes into being. A focus for the SKA partnership at the moment is the procurement policy for the construction phase. The SKA Office near Manchester has developed a 'hybrid procurement model' which allows for the SKA members to negotiate for some contracts to be allocated for delivery within their countries, alongside competitive tendering. A key intent for this model is to provide some certainty for members that they can maintain their interests in areas where they have made significant contributions to telescope design. While procurement activities aren't expected until at least late 2020, to assist Australian companies to prepare for these contracts, my office is working with the Australian Government's Entrepreneurs' Programme to develop a 'toolbox' of services, including a diagnostic tool that will help businesses self-assess their 'Big Science' project readiness. Companies wishing to be kept informed of these developments are encouraged to register their interest by joining the Australasian Square Kilometre Array Industry Cluster. Details on how to join are available on our website at www.ska.gov.au. In news from Manchester, the SKA Organisation (and Observatory when created) has a new home! The iconic Jodrell Bank Observatory has been inaugurated as the SKA's global headquarters. The facility will serve as a central hub for the more than 1000 experts working to deliver this global project. The Observatory will be responsible for making the final decisions on the SKA's design as well as coordinating the contracts needed to build the telescopes and associated infrastructure. Australian institutions are continuing to shine on the astronomical world stage. On 15 July 2019, the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) was awarded the winner of the SKA's first Science Data Challenge. Nine teams representing 12 institutions in eight countries took part in the challenge to analyse a series of high resolution images of the radio sky created through data simulations, and use software of their choosing to find, identify and classify the sources. Congratulations to all the researchers involved in this terrific achievement. Finally, I'd like to remind everyone that this week is National Science Week and if you haven't already tweeted a selfie of yourself in your workplace, it's not too late. This is a great opportunity for us to encourage the next generation of scientists and researchers by promoting the studying of STEM subjects. Just remember to include the hashtags #scienceweek and #STEMgotmehere. Regards David Luchetti Australia SKA Project Director UNCLASSIFIED -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From andrew.casey at monash.edu Thu Aug 15 07:18:30 2019 From: andrew.casey at monash.edu (Andrew Casey) Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2019 07:18:30 +1000 Subject: [ASA] Fwd: [sdss4-general 3019] SDSS-V Commissioning Scientist! References: Message-ID: Begin forwarded message: > From: Juna Kollmeier > Date: 15 August 2019 at 07:14:11 AEST > To: sdss4-general at sdss.org, sdss5-general at sdss.org > Subject: [sdss4-general 3019] SDSS-V Commissioning Scientist! > > Hello all, > > SDSS-V is seeking a Commissioning Scientist! See description below. Also attached as a PDF. This is a great opportunity to have a major role in SDSS-V. > > Please circulate broadly! > > Thanks, > Juna > > ========= > Background: > The Sloan Digital Sky Survey V (SDSS-V), an international collaboration of universities and research institutions, is currently developing the next generation of the highly successful SDSS under the auspices of the Astrophysical Research Consortium (ARC). ARC recently received a major funding grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in support of this effort. SDSS-V will consist of three spectroscopic surveys to map the evolution of the Milky Way and nearby galaxies and trace the growth of black holes in the early Universe. Observations will begin in 2020 and continue for five years. The surveys will produce a massive amount of scientific data that will be made publicly available in the tradition of SDSS. Data will be distributed from an expanded data archive developed for previous SDSS surveys. > > The surveys will be conducted on telescopes at the Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico, USA, and at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. They will use a combination of existing telescopes and instrumentation along with new instrumentation and data systems constructed specifically for SDSS-V. Development of the new facilities and instrumentation is underway. SDSS-V consists of a number of Project Groups, located at various member institutions and two observatory sites, with responsibility for developing instrumentation and software, planning and conducting the surveys, and site operations. . > > The SDSS-V project is described in https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/PjUQCvl0PoC5o2JmhQHUsJ?domain=sdss.org, which provides details of the scientific goals, instrumentation, organization, and program plan. > > Job Summary: > The Commissioning Scientist (CS) will be a key member of the team that is planning, building, and conducting the SDSS-V survey program. S/he will work closely with the Central Project Office and Project Group technical teams and will work closely with the Project Scientist, Survey Coordinator and other team leads. S/he is expected to have a good understanding of all major scientific, technical, and managerial aspects of SDSS-V. The CS will be a member of the SDSS-V Management Committee. > SDSS-V is a geographically dispersed project that relies heavily on internet communication tools to coordinate the work. The CS is expected to work closely with the various groups within the collaboration to ensure effective communication across the project. > We estimate this role will require a 20% FTE effort, but we anticipate multi-week stretches of effectively full-time commitment during the peak commissioning of the APO and LCO surveys. The equivalent positions in SDSS-III and -IV have typically come with some financial support for those eligible to receive it. This level of support is a reasonable expectation for SDSS-V, depending on program funding. In-kind contribution credit can also be considered. > > Job Duties: > Broadly, the CS will develop and document SDSS-V's multi-object spectroscopy (MOS) commissioning plan, in conjunction with the Central Project Office and the Management Committee. The commissioning phase refers to the scientific commissioning of the survey, after the suite of focal-plane robotic fiber positioning systems and BOSS/APOGEE spectrographic systems has been installed and its basic functionality internally verified by the instrument teams. > In particular, the CS will > design a plan for the survey commissioning at APO and LCO, > devise set of commissioning observations at APO and LCO > verify the survey performance against requirements, > coordinate initial data analysis with the survey teams, > partake in commissioning observations, and > develop criteria for survey readiness. > > Minimum Requirements: > Previous experience in the broader aspects of commissioning astronomical instrumentation. > Knowledge, Skills and Abilities > ? Experience working in large science projects and familiarity with project management/systems engineering practices > . Experience planning observational campaigns, with a preference for commissioning or science validation campaigns > . Carrying out astronomical observations > . Astronomical data reduction > ? Excellent written and oral communication skills > ? Good computer skills > ? Experience with telescope systems is strongly preferred > Application Instructions: > To apply for this position, submit a curriculum vitae and a 1-2 page cover letter explaining your interest in the position, qualifications, relevant background, and any special considerations, to the SDSS-V Director Juna Kollmeier (jak at carnegiescience.edu) and SDSS-V Project Scientist, Hans-Walter Rix (rix at mpia.de). Review of applications will begin August 28th and continue until the position is filled. Selection will be made by the SDSS-V Director and the SDSS-V Project Scientist in consultation with the SDSS-V Management Committee. We encourage all interested individuals, including women and underrepresented minorities, to apply. Please forward this announcement to anyone you feel may be a qualified candidate and encourage them to apply. Contact the SDSS-V Project Scientist Hans-Walter Rix (rix at mpia.de) and the SDSS-V Director, Juna Kollmeier (jak at carnegiescience.edu) with any questions. > > ____________________________________________________________ > SDSS-IV General Discussions > https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/_W3ICwVLQmimXA5MsqRTQQ?domain=trac.sdss.org > https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/bzR8CxnMRvtVK9p6fYem4_?domain=mailman.sdss.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: CPO-CommissioningScientist-140819-1510-24.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 6600 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lucyna.chudczer at astronomyaustralia.org.au Thu Aug 15 15:10:48 2019 From: lucyna.chudczer at astronomyaustralia.org.au (Lucyna Chudczer) Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2019 15:10:48 +1000 Subject: [ASA] 2020A Anglo-Australian Telescope Call for Proposals Message-ID: <013201d55327$cd862c10$68928430$@astronomyaustralia.org.au> 2020A Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) Call for Proposals The main proposal deadline for the AAT in Semester 2020A (February 2020 - July 2020) is: 16 September 2019, at 17:00 Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC + 10 hrs) Proposals to the Australian Time Allocation Committee (ATAC) must follow the ATAC Policies and Procedures and be submitted before the deadline using the Lens proposal form (https://www.aao.gov.au/lens/ ). Applying for AAT Telescope Time through ATAC Important information: AAT is operated by a consortium of Australian universities Since 1 July 2018, AAT operations have been managed and funded through a consortium of Australian universities, led by the Australian National University (ANU). Operating procedures for AAT observations following the transition have changed little, with the exceptions that successful applicants are expected to cover their own travel and accommodation costs to the observatory and will have more limited expert assistance on site. Important information: Open Time and Paid Time on the AAT Australian proposals may seek either Open Time or Paid Time on the AAT. A proposal is Australian if at least half of the proposers and the lead proposer are based at Australian institutions. Open Time is only available to Australian proposals. There is no charge to Australian astronomers for the use of Open Time. Paid Time is available to both Australian and non-Australian proposals. Non-Australian proposals can only access Paid Time, not Open Time. Inquiries regarding the terms and conditions for AAT Paid Time can be made to Astronomy Australia Limited (info - at - astronomyaustralia.org.au ). ATAC will rank all Open Time proposals by scientific merit, and time will be allocated on this basis (subject to practical constraints) until the available Open Time is fully allocated. More details are available in the ATAC Policies and Procedures document . Important information: proposal preparation - Time available for new proposals: accounting for existing Large Programs, Director's time and instrument commissioning, there are expected to be 134 nights available for new proposals in Semester 20A (42 dark, 34 grey, 59 bright). - Due to the reduction in expert assistance at the telescope, proposers are required to describe the relevant experience and expertise of the team with the instrument(s) being applied for. Observers are encouraged to arrive sufficiently in advance of their run to gain such training as is needed for their run. - The current Large AAT Program, the DEVILS survey, has been allocated 7 dark or grey nights at certain RAs. New programs with targets outside of these RAs are more likely to be scheduled. The RA information for Large AAT Programs is available at https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/35bWC3Q8Z2FlYO0lCDazN1?domain=aat.anu.edu.au - To help address issues associated with unconscious bias (e.g. see the study at https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/hoPSC5QZ29F7Y247i8D3Oq?domain=arxiv.org ) the format of the proposals has been as follows: (1) PI information will not be provided to ATAC, (2) investigator information will be provided at the end of the proposal without first names, (3) the list of investigators will be sorted alphabetically, and (4) investigators are required to use numerical citations for referencing. Lead investigators should avoid directly disclosing their identity in the science or technical justification sections. Feedback on these changes are welcome and should be sent to the ATAC Technical Secretary (aat - at - astronomyaustralia.org.au ). - Based upon historical weather trends, about 33% of time is lost to bad weather. Proposers are therefore required to multiply their time requirement by a factor of 1.5 to allow for time lost to weather. Important information: Large Programs The AAT Council resolved to postpone the Call for Large Proposals until semester 2020B due to recent failures of the 2dF, the workhorse of survey programs. Currently 2dF is operational but has a limited supply of spare parts. The observatory is working on securing additional spare parts for the instrument and upgrading any obsolete systems. Important information: instrument availability and upgrades . Available AAT instruments include: 2dF+AAOmega, 2dF+HERMES and KOALA. Additionally, Veloce will be offered on a shared-risk basis. We anticipate that Veloce will be provisionally accepted by the Observatory before semester 2020A starts, at which point the Observatory will review the shared-risk status. . Commissioning of Hector instrument will commence using Director's Time. . Target of Opportunity mode is available with 2dF+AAOmega, 2dF+HERMES and KOALA. The Target of Opportunity policy is available at https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/E2NGC71ZgLtKjwoKU2xY1e?domain=aat.anu.edu.au . Additional instrumentation status information is available at https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/UKL0C91ZkQtXVD9XIQPbbp?domain=aat.anu.edu.au Lens proposal submission system All proposals should be submitted with the AAT's online application system Lens , which will open on the day this call is made. This system is a user account based system, which allows for improved security and better tracking of past and current proposals. There is a FAQ available for Lens online, or available via the FAQ tab in Lens itself. All new users must register (https://www.aao.gov.au/lens/register ) with the system. Note that users cannot be added to proposals if they are not registered in Lens. Please ensure that all investigators on a proposal have registered well before the deadline! For any queries or comments, please email: lens - at - aao.gov.au Remote observing Remote observing stations are available at ANU, ICRAR, Swinburne, UNSW and Australian Astronomical Optics (North Ryde). If you have not used the instrument that you are scheduled for in the last two years (either remotely or from site), then we require you to do the observations from site. How to Apply for AAT Time Instrument status and policies All ATAC applicants should check the ATAC Policies and Procedures , the latest Instrumentation Status for the AAT and recent Policy Announcements . Those seeking long term status should refer to the Long-term Programs page. For further clarification on any issue, please contact the ATAC Technical Secretary (aat - at - astronomyaustralia.org.au ). If at least half the proposers and the lead proposer are from European countries, they may apply for AAT time through the OPTICON program. Proposal content Full technical details, outlining how you derived your time estimates, observing constraints, and any special requests should be included in the scientific case (preferably under a separate section heading). Proposers should demonstrate that their team has the skills and experience with the required observing modes to effectively conduct the proposed observations. Proposals should be written so that the content and significance is understandable by astronomers with different backgrounds. If your proposal seeks time on two instruments, outline carefully the relative requirements of the different instrument set-ups, including the split in observing time between the instruments. If the observations are essential to the completion of a student's PhD thesis, then a full explanation must be given in the science case. No special consideration is given to proposals involving PhD students, except when attempting to schedule proposals near the scientific ranking cut-off, when some priority may be given. After including overheads (detector readout, calibrations and telescope slewing), observers are required to multiply their time request by 1.5 to account for bad weather. Any backup project must use the same instrument as the main project. A list of the principal targets (field centres for 2dF programs) should be prepared as a separate PDF document. The target list should contain target name, RA (h m s), Dec (d m s), target brightness, and priority. There is a 2-page limit for this target list PDF file. Other document formats will not be accepted. Proposal submission details Prepare your main proposal offline, including an abstract, target list, science case, and technical justification. The science case and technical justification together should be in PDF format, no more than three pages total, with two pages for the science case and one page for technical justification. Those three pages should include all references and figures, use 11pt font (or larger), and have at least 10mm margins. Numerical referencing should be used (e.g. "as shown by [1].", instead of "as shown by Smith et al. (2017)" ). Colour figures are accepted. Other document formats will not be accepted. Submitting your proposal When your proposal details are ready, submit your application to ATAC through Lens, the AAT's online proposal submission system. As noted above, this is a user-account-based system and all investigators on a proposal must be registered. Acknowledgements The AAT Consortium requests all publications based upon data obtained through the AAT include the following acknowledgement: Based [in part] on data obtained at Siding Spring Observatory [via program XXX]. We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which the AAT stands, the Gamilaraay people, and pay our respects to elders past and present. New Opportunity: Guaranteed time on GSAOI/Gemini South in 2020B The NGS2 is a new, more sensitive Tip-Tilt Wavefront Sensor for the Gemini Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics systems (GeMS) that was constructed at ANU for the Gemini-South 8m telescope. NGS2 will allow the use of guide stars up to at least one magnitude fainter than the current system, significantly extending the number of astronomical objects that can be studied at high angular resolution with GeMS. The NGS2 system will also reduce target acquisition overheads increasing the efficiency of science programs. Full details of the performance enhancements will be established once commissioning of the system, currently scheduled for October 2019, is completed. Part of the agreement with Gemini for the NGS2 project is that there are to be 7 nights of guaranteed time with GSAOI+NGS2 available for the Australian community to use. The current expectation is that this time will be allocated by ATAC in 2020B contingent on successful commissioning and completion of the contract. This is a good time to start thinking of the "killer" proposals suitable for this exciting opportunity. AAO-CTIO time-swap arrangement The AAO and NOAO/CTIO have a time-swap arrangement to allow our respective communities to maximise their scientific opportunities through access to a broader range of facilities. This semester, there will be 6 nights of CTIO (Blanco) time available to the Australian community. The 2020A Call for Proposals for Australian community on Blanco Telescope will be issued on the 22 August 2019. Further details about the available nights and instruments can be found from the last NOAO's 2019B Call for Proposals. The new CTIO Call for Proposals is due for release 01-Sep-2019 (MST; UTC-7:00) with the updated information. Generally, a uniform distribution of lunations will be available to the Australian community. Note too that DECam can produce useful imaging in the reddest filters (izY) on all but the very brightest nights. All scheduled observations will be carried out in classical mode, with observers required to travel to the telescope at their own expense. How to Apply Those who wish to apply for Blanco time should do so using the Lens proposal system (https://www.aao.gov.au/lens/home ), selecting "CTIO 4m" from the telescopes menu on the first page of the proposal form. 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. Contacting the ATAC Secretariat Postal Address: PO Box 2100 Hawthorn VIC 3122 Street Address: AAO - Macquarie University 105 Delhi Rd, North Ryde NSW 2113 Australia E-mail: aat - at - astronomyaustralia.org.au Web: www.astronomyaustralia.org.au/aat.html Dr Lucyna Kedziora-Chudczer Program Manager Astronomy Australia Ltd (Sydney Office) E: lucyna.chudczer at astronomyaustralia.org.au W: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/5EYjCq7BKYt36Vl3S9LzRL?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au AAL is committed to equity and diversity and endeavours to create an environment in which every individual is treated with dignity and respect. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 1036 bytes Desc: not available URL: From andrew.hopkins at mq.edu.au Fri Aug 16 11:01:01 2019 From: andrew.hopkins at mq.edu.au (Andrew Hopkins) Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2019 01:01:01 +0000 Subject: [ASA] 4 Sept. 2019: Optical Facilities Mid-Term Review Town Hall Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, From 10am-3pm on Wed. 4 Sept. we will hold a town-hall meeting at AAO-MQ, meeting rooms 1/2 (behind reception), to discuss national priorities for optical/IR facilities to inform the decadal plan mid-term review. Remote participation by zoom will be available. Motivation and goals: To discuss what optical/IR instruments/facilities and projects are important to the community, to get a sense of funding envelopes and timeframes for each. To build community consensus around a prioritised list in a way that will help inform funders, including AAL, to support future planning. Outcomes: A report summarising the outcomes of the discussion will be shared with the Mid-Term Review committee to support and inform their work, and circulated to the community through the ASA mailing list. A detailed schedule for the day will follow. To register your interest in attending please email Andrew Hopkins (andrew.hopkins at mq.edu.au) before Thu. 29 Aug. All are welcome. There is no registration fee. Lunch will be provided. Andrew Hopkins ? Prof. Andrew Hopkins, Professor of Astronomy Australian Astronomical Optics, Macquarie University 105 Delhi Rd, North Ryde, NSW 2113, Australia +61 2 9372 4849 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From caroline.foster at sydney.edu.au Fri Aug 16 12:24:59 2019 From: caroline.foster at sydney.edu.au (Caroline Foster) Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2019 02:24:59 +0000 Subject: [ASA] An update from your ESO UC representative Message-ID: <0FFB30EA-66D6-4C31-9F8E-7E8BC9FA60A5@sydney.edu.au> Dear fellow Australian astronomers, Please share the following update with other interested parties. This email is a hopefully thorough update from your ESO Users Committee (UC) representative. My role is to represent Australian ESO Users and act as a capillary link between ESO and the Australian community. ESO success and next call for proposal Congratulations to all those who were successful at securing ESO time in P104 and recently completed their Phase 2! While Australia?s success rate has been this round (including our first successful large program allocation), the number of proposals has been decreasing slowly over time. The bottom line is that if we put more proposals in or ask for more time, the stats indicate that we will get more out of our ESO partnership! It is never too early to start thinking about a good angle for the next proposal round. So please consider how ESO data could enhance your scientific portfolio. The next call for proposals should come out soon with a deadline around end of September. Only normal proposals will be accepted for P105 as large program calls have now moved to a yearly cycle, next call will be for P106. I note that the frequency of the call for proposals for normal programs or director?s discretionary time proposals so far remain unchanged. ESO UC43 The ESO Users Committee met on 29-30 April this year. You may find the agenda and certain files here (although not all of them are publicly available). The recommendations have just been made public (they are attached to this email), so I am now free to update everyone on the proceedings of the meeting. ESO?s response to last year?s UC recommendations is unfortunately not public, but we were pleased to see that all recommendations had been considered and most had been acted upon. For those that were not acted upon, ESO discussed possible ways forward. For this year, the UC reported a generally high level of satisfaction from ESO Users on nearly all fronts. A slight improvement in user satisfaction with software tools has been noted by ESO, thanks to significant software development efforts in the past year or two. ESO also announced a new web-based phase 1 tool! Although this is still under development, all ESO tools are being integrated so that phase 1, phase 2, the exposure time calculator and finding chart tools can work together for a relatively breezy user experience. The release of the tools was expedited (without full integration) following last year?s recommendation. My experience and the above show that ESO cares and proactively acts upon user feedback. Nando Patat presented the outcome of the distributed peer review process experiment for which some of you may have volunteered in P103. His findings will be published in a forthcoming Messenger article, so stay tuned. One interesting result is that the distributed peer-review process is at least as good as the Observing Programme Committee (OPC, ie ESO?s TAC) process. One take-home message I personally got out of this representation is that while rankings generally agreed between the pre-OPC grades and distributed peer-review ranking, in-person meetings tended to change the outcome in a measurable way. The following is my personal observation/opinion and does not reflect ESO?s point of view: I was left wondering whether in-person meetings may be counter-productive (and needlessly expensive) if they can sway the outcome in this way (assuming the pre-ranking and pre-OPC grades were "more correct? by virtue of their agreement), but this is hard to determine as ranking proposals is an inherently subjective process. The special topic this year was on ESO public surveys. The UC heard from 2 expert public survey users (David Sobral and Sara Lucatello) on their experience using ESO phase III products (high level data products provided by other ESO Users/PIs) and public survey data. Both emphasised the need for high level Phase 3 data products to hit the archive in a timely fashion to maximise impact. This is entirely dependent on the survey teams and ESO has little leverage to ensure timely release of such data products. Miscellaneous The 2018 ESO annual report is now out for your reading pleasure. Tayyaba Zafar (AAO/Macquarie), Carlos De Breuck (ESO) and Magda Arnaboldi (ESO) have published a report on the first Australia-ESO conference. A particular highlight is how blind abstract ranking by the SOC naturally led to a well-balanced gender and seniority presenters' distributions. If you experience technical issues using ESO data/facilities, the best place to get help is by emailing the ESO User Support Department. Many thanks to those who are serving, served or agreed to be nominated for the OPC. You may nominate someone or self-nominate at any time by contacting me directly. ESO requests that OPC nominees be on their 2nd postdoc or beyond. The ESO OPC nomination system requires me to include the OPC subcategories in the nomination. In addition, I may also include the nominee?s experience on ESO telescopes and the year of their PhD. As usual, if you have been nominated in the past, but haven?t been contacted by ESO yet, your name will stay in the system for a total of 4 periods (2 years), feel free to re-nominate yourself if that time has lapsed. Finally, if you haven?t already done so, don?t forget to sign up for the ESO science newsletter. Clear skies! Caroline -- Dr Caroline Foster ASTRO3D Fellow & ESO Users Committee Representative Pronouns: she/her/hers The University of Sydney Faculty of Science, Sydney Institute for Astrophysics 360B, A28 | The University of Sydney | NSW | +61 286 276 411 | +61 430 453 532 caroline.foster at sydney.edu.au | https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/ogNPCnxyErC2MBOvipvIWO?domain=carofoster.com Office days: Monday (@USyd), Tuesday, Thursday, Friday (@USyd) INSPIRED ? the Campaign to support the University of Sydney sydney.edu.au/inspired CRICOS 00026A This email plus any attachments to it are confidential. Any unauthorised use is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error, please delete it and any attachments. Please think of our environment and only print this email if necessary. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: UC43_recommendations.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 33409 bytes Desc: UC43_recommendations.pdf URL: