[ASA] ESO Period 106 Call for Proposals: Deadline extended to 23 April

Mon Mar 23 11:57:35 AEDT 2020

Given ongoing developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic, ESO has
postponed the proposal submission deadline for Period 106
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/aZBICp81lrtQ1DWxCPY1fN?domain=eso.org>  from 26
March to 23 April 12:00 CEST (8pm Australian Eastern Standard Time, 6pm
Australian Western Standard Time). 

Furthermore, to minimise the risk of infection the presence of staff has
been significantly reduced at the La Silla Paranal Observatory over the past
week leading to a number of restrictions to the ongoing science operation.
As a consequence science operation will cease at all ESO observatory sites
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/Tc5HCq71mwfLKW37tXGcAF?domain=eso.org>  from 23
March 2020 until further notice.

Stuart Ryder, AAL

ESO Period 106 Call for Proposals

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has released the Call for Proposals
for Period 106 (for observations between 1 October 2020 - 31 March 2021).
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 (3.6
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/5MAqCr81nytwP9YDS4UtcA?domain=eso.org> );
*	New Technology Telescope (NTT
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/Gui0Cvl1rKiOpX5ySAnStL?domain=eso.org> );
*	Very Large Telescope (VLT
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/1rTFCwV1vMf0JpmRT10vqt?domain=eso.org> );
*	Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/JhWjCxngwOfmnOVQtW0diJ?domain=eso.org> );
*	Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/owmvCyojxQT6qnwytP6Ctg?domain=eso.org> ); and
*	VLT Survey Telescope (VST
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/VaDrCzvkyVC8QLZmcMWukg?domain=eso.org> ).

Proposals for ESO time (in late August, Oct and Dec 2020) to use the Atacama
Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/aKu3CANpgjCrLYX1CB8j0p?domain=apex-telescope.org> ) antenna on
Chajnantor will also be considered on the same basis as those from any ESO
member state.

Complete details on how to apply can be found at the P106 Call for Proposals
web page <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/1RQ-CBNqjlCPporlUQFSGC?domain=eso.org.>
. All applicants should consult the Call for Proposals document for Period
106 <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/23uACD1vlpTjNPzOIvvkJb?domain=eso.org> , and will
require an ESO User Portal <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/Ue5_CE8wmrt1VP26fk6CCd?domain=eso.org>  account to
submit proposals. 

A wealth of information for Australian applicants can be found on AAL's
Australian ESO Forum <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/b9PvCGv0oyCWKgRLCPSL6x?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au> .
Any questions about policies or the practical aspects of proposal
preparation should be addressed to the ESO Observing Programmes Office,
opo at eso.org <mailto:opo at eso.org> . Applicants who may wish to seek advice on
proposal or observing strategies, optimal choice of instrument, etc. are
invited to contact AAL's ESO Program Manager at
Stuart.Ryder at astronomyaustralia.org.au
<mailto:Stuart.Ryder at astronomyaustralia.org.au> .

ESO will normally only cover the observing expenses for 1 observer per
Visitor Mode run. However there have been cases where ESO has agreed to
waive the costs of flights and accommodation within Chile for a student who
accompanies their supervisor. Supervisors awarded observing time at La Silla
Paranal Observatory in Visitor Mode are encouraged to contact the Visiting
Astronomers section with any request for student support before submitting
their Travel Form.

What's new in Period 106?

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the expected changes in
instrumentation offered and procedures for Period 106 given in Sec. 1.1 of
the Call for Proposals
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/MenkCJyBrGfp3XvQHYDBSb?domain=eso.org> .
Among the items likely to be of most interest to the Australian community
are:

*	New web-based proposal submission tool: Period 105 marked the
transition away from the traditional ESOFORM LaTeX proposal file, to a new
web-based Phase 1 tool ("p1"). Among the many new features on offer are the
ability for the PI and Co-Is to edit proposals collaboratively; pull-down
menus for selecting instrument options; querying Simbad for target
information; and the ability to update submitted proposals right up to the
deadline! See the ESO Messenger article
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/jDe3CK1DvKT8zJNrcNW7nj?domain=eso.org
er-no176-41-44.pdf>  for an overview of the new features, and try out the
p1demo <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/d_QICL7EwMfNyvrYF4-qUC?domain=eso.org>  tool. Applicants who
submitted a proposal in P105 using p1 will be able to "clone" the proposal
for P106, which will pre-populate most of the fields and highlight those
fields that will need to be updated.
*	New Large Programme proposals accepted in P106: Since Period 104,
Large Programme proposals are only being accepted once per year during even
Periods. Large Programmes can be requested to start either in P106 or in
P107, but the programme can extend at most over four consecutive semesters
(currently up to Period 109). ESO strives to execute Large Programmes over
shorter periods of time (aiming at two semesters by default), while
maintaining the ceiling set by ESO Council of 30% of the observing time
allocated to Large Programmes. To that end Large Programme requests should
not extend over a number of Periods larger than that set by their scientific
requirements. All ongoing Large Programmes at the 3.6-m telescope will be
completed during Period 105; therefore, Large Programme proposals for HARPS
are encouraged.
*	Updating of ESO User Portal Profiles: ESO is now requesting all
science users provide more detailed information
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/qRvTCMwGxOtxMl16HYVeDI?domain=eso.org>  in
their User Portal profile, including gender, year of PhD, ORCID and a series
of keywords for specifying scientific and technical expertise. Users failing
to do this will not be able to submit a proposal as PI and/or as CoI in
P106.
*	ESO Proposal Anonymisation: ESO strongly encourages applicants to
begin formulating the scientific rationales in their proposals taking into
account the anonymisation rules and principles of Dual-Anonymous Peer Review
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/MxmOCNLJyQUVDR8Mig0xID?domain=eso.org>
(DAPR). While DAPR will be implemented in full in the future and proposal
anonymisation is not mandatory in Period 106, applicants should use this
opportunity as a "dry run" to practice writing proposals in the required
style.
*	Visitor focus availability: The Nasmyth A focus of UT1 is available
for a Visitor Instrument during Period 106 until the start of preparatory
work for the arrival of MOONS. In addition, a visitor focus for an
interferometric instrument is available in the VLTI laboratory. Interested
users should consult Section 3 of the
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/17hkCOMKzVT5zGj2fBSJSL?domain=eso.org>  Call
for Proposals.
*	Survey Telescopes availability: P106 and P107 are the last periods
for which the operation of the VST is guaranteed under the current agreement
between ESO and INAF. P107 is also expected to be the last period of VIRCAM
operations before the start of the modifications required at VISTA for the
installation of 4MOST.
*	SOFI availability: The installation and commissioning of SoXS (the
Son of X-Shooter) on the NTT is expected to start during P106. As a
consequence, SOFI will be decommissioned one month beforehand.
*	nFLASH: Pending a successful commissioning in Q1 2020 nFLASH on APEX
will contain two receivers replacing the PI230 and FLASH receivers:
nFLASH230 (200-270 GHz) and nFLASH460 (385-500 GHz). Both are dual
polarization receivers, and can only be used independently in P106.

______________________________

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

T: +61 (02) 9372 4843

M: +61 (0419) 970834 
E:  <mailto:stuart.ryder at astronomyaustralia.org.au>
stuart.ryder at astronomyaustralia.org.au

W:  <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/SoPCCP7LAXfv8lR5Tk2ilR?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au> www.astronomyaustralia.org.au 

O: c/o AAO, 105 Delhi Rd, North Ryde, NSW 2113, Australia

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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