[ASA] Australian LCO Call for Proposals – 2021B

[Christopher Onken]

As a host institution for the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) global network of telescopes, ANU has been entitled to a share of the network's observing time. From 2021B, ANU is widening access to this observing time, and all Australian astronomers are now eligible to apply for the ANU time on the LCO network. The closing date for observing proposals for the 2021B semester (from 1 August 2021 to 31 January 2022) will be
12noon AEST, Thursday, 8 July 2021.

For the first two years of the wider Australian access (i.e., through 2023A), proposals led by astronomers outside of ANU will be limited to half of the available total within each class of telescope. In addition, under the ongoing ANU host agreement with LCO, at least half of the overall ANU time consists of contributions to LCO Key Projects ( see https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/oy-XC4QOPEiBGvJm2fOy6RH?domain=lco.global ). Thus, proposals to support the Key Projects are strongly encouraged, but will be assessed on scientific merit like any other proposal.

ANU's time for 2021B will be 100 hours on the 2m telescopes, 200 hours on the 1m telescopes, and 200 hours on the 0.4m telescopes. Note that this access can utilise any of the two 2m telescopes, thirteen 1m telescopes, or ten 0.4m telescopes in the entire LCO global network. See further details at the official LCO CfP at https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/RuztC5QPXJiZOD0xPuOutUb?domain=lco.global

Proposed observations can use any of the three observing modes: standard queue-scheduled, Time Critical, and Rapid Response. All proposals that request Time Critical or Rapid Response time will be technically reviewed by LCO. The proposals must explicitly justify the need for TC/RR time. LCO will work with the PIs to make any changes to the queue/TC/RR allocations if it is determined that the science can be done with less restrictive scheduling modes. Proposals lacking justification will automatically get standard queue-mode observations.

Proposals will be assessed on scientific merit by the ANU TAC, taking into account that the Australian PI must be a significant team member. Note that this is not a call for large proposals, and any proposal that appears to compete with a Key Project would need to justify why it is different.

A maximum 2 page scientific and technical justification should be sent to lco_proposals at mso.anu.edu.au<mailto:lco_proposals at mso.anu.edu.au>

In addition, list on a separate page:

  *   Proposers and institutions.
  *   Requested telescope and instruments.
  *   Requested allocation in each observing mode (queue/TC/RR) and minimum useful allocation.
  *   If asking for less than 20 hours, if you want to schedule your own observations or if you would like someone else to help.
  *   If asking for more than 50 hours (excluding key project contributions), confirmation that you’re willing to schedule time for minor proposers on their behalf. Accepting this should be a default response.
  *   An estimate of how much time is required beyond this semester.

Please contact Christopher Onken<mailto:christopher.onken at anu.edu.au> if you have any questions about LCO or ANU's access to the network.

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