[ASA] ESO Period 113 Call for Proposals

Mon Sep 4 14:51:05 AEST 2023

ESO Period 113 Call for Proposals

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has released the Call for Proposals for Period 113 (for observations between 1 April – 30 September 2024). 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: 

1.	3.6-m telescope (3.6 <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/xt_UCmO5glup9K28PfGGqN_?domain=eso.org> )
2.	New Technology Telescope (NTT <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/ZshbCnx1jniXkq5g3UJv0jl?domain=eso.org> )
3.	Very Large Telescope (VLT <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/ivUSCoV1kpfDQL45PFVMOOq?domain=eso.org> ) 
4.	Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/8w4QCp81lrt97NDqOiGXaMt?domain=eso.org> ).

The proposal deadline is Tuesday 26 September 2023 at noon Central European Summer Time (8pm Australian Eastern Standard Time, 6pm Australian Western Standard Time).

Complete details on how to apply can be found at the  <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/YnP8Cq71mwf1VPWnkHNlb_Q?domain=eso.org.> P113 Call for Proposals web page. All applicants should consult the Call for Proposals document for Period 113 <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/VbYdCr81nytrW097nFN5V8j?domain=eso.org> , and are required to update their  <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/qnpTCvl1rKiERjXqLCy6A2r?domain=eso.org> ESO User Portal accounts to submit or be on proposals. 

A wealth of information for Australian applicants can be found on AAL’s  <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/HslsCwV1vMfv2zpkVCQeuef?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au> Australian ESO Forum. Any questions about policies or the practical aspects of proposal preparation should be addressed to the ESO Observing Programmes Office,  <mailto:opo at eso.org> 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  <mailto:Stuart.Ryder at astronomyaustralia.org.au> Stuart.Ryder at astronomyaustralia.org.au.

What's new in Period 113?

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the expected changes in instrumentation offered and procedures for Period 113 given in  <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/v71tCxngwOfLz4ODRCAfr7N?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:

1.	Maximising your chances of being scheduled: In the interests of maximising their chances of being able to be scheduled even if highly ranked, applicants are strongly urged to consider the essential information provided in the Forecast of telescope pressure <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/2fWhCyojxQT7pznK2Ck8fr5?domain=eso.org>  by telescope and by Right Ascension. Please take particular note of the current high demand on UT4, especially in the 9<RA<14h range, where securing observing time will be particularly challenging.

2.	Joint VLT/I-ALMA proposals: ESO has introduced a joint channel for scientific programmes requiring both VLT/I observations in P113 and ALMA observations in Cycle 10. ESO may award a maximum of 50 hours of ALMA observing time on each of its arrays to Joint Proposals per year. Further details can be found on the Joint VLT/I-ALMA proposals page <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/MoWCCzvkyVCG7pLEwfJFPXB?domain=eso.org> . ESO has confirmed that ALMA would always treat an Australian-led Joint VLT/I-ALMA proposal as “ <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/HymYCANpgjCZ83YBlcJZenA?domain=almascience.eso.org> Open Skies”, regardless of whether they get their time allocated through  <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/x1rvCBNqjlCDy9o0RFn0F4s?domain=almascience.eso.org> ALMA’s own joint proposal process, or through a joint VLT/I allocation. If in doubt, users should contact the  <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/sUHOCD1vlpToyKPwJC7lFpa?domain=help.almascience.org> ALMA helpdesk.

1.	No Large Programme proposals accepted in P113: Large Programme proposals (those seeking >100 hrs over 1-4 Periods) are only accepted once per year during the Call for even-numbered Periods. The next opportunity to submit a new Large Programme proposal (to start in P114 or 115) will be in March 2024.

2.	ERIS: The focal plane coronagraphy (FPC) and long-slit spectroscopy (LSS) modes for ERIS <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/9WHMCE8wmrtlYJPO0uqtDyx?domain=eso.org>  will be offered in Period 113. The bright magnitude limit for NGS has been removed, and the faint magnitude limit for LGS tip-tilt stars has been relaxed from RP=17 to RP=18. Seeing-enhancer mode is offered for targets without suitable tip-tilt stars. Non-sidereal and differential tracking modes are also offered. For NIX, the three sparse aperture masks are now offered, as well as detector windowing with four preset subarrays sizes.

3.	ESPRESSO: the Laser Frequency Comb (LFC) for ESPRESSO <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/kykTCGv0oyCB6pgEOHMXiPd?domain=eso.org>  has been fully operational since October 2022, and the LFC calibrations for different modes have been included in the daily calibration plan. However a detailed analysis of the LFC data collected between October 2022 and May 2023 has revealed a strong degradation in the LFC performance. A maintenance intervention is scheduled for Oct/Nov 2023 aimed at improving the LFC current performance.

4.	VLTI-UT: Operation with MACAO and CIAO will cease after the July 2024 UT run for the GRAVITY+ Adaptive Optics (GPAO) implementation to begin. Due to the impact of these changes, no monitoring programmes are offered for Period 113 when observing with UTs. GPAO is expected to be installed in the last couple of months of P113. During this time, VLTI-UT observations will not be possible.

5.	Simultaneous usage of HARPS and NIRPS on the 3.6m: NIRPS <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/PHMUCJyBrGfBVmXlAHD2om2?domain=eso.org>  is a near-infrared (974nm-1919nmm), high-resolution (up to R = 90,000), cross-dispersed fibre-fed spectrograph optimised for stability and designed for the detection and characterisation of exoplanets around late-type stars that started operation in P111. It can be used simultaneously with HARPS to collect spectra from 380nm to 1919nm (with a gap from 689nm to 974nm) in a single acquisition. Its ultimate goal is to reach a long-term stability of ≤ 1m/s, but for the first period of operation a more conservative value of 2-3 m/s is adopted. A Laser Frequency Comb for wavelength calibrations is expected to improve further the stability from Period 112 onwards. Users requesting to use both NIRPS and HARPS should select NIRPS instrument in P1 and declare the intention of using both instruments in the Special Remarks field of the proposal. Users should be aware that slightly larger overheads are expected when switching from HARPS alone to HARPS+NIRPS mode.

6.	Gravitational wave follow-up observations: The OPC approved a Large Programme <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/inWWCK1DvKTD6vJPMF4VeZc?domain=archive.eso.org>  to cover the period of the current science run of the gravitational wave detectors (advanced LIGO, VIRGO and KAGRA). This programme covers all potential electromagnetic follow-up observations possible with ESO facilities until the end of 2024 and hence no proposals depending on gravitational wave triggers will be accepted. The proprietary time of the LP has been reduced to two months to enable early access to the community for any data collected of gravitational wave sources.

7.	SOXS to replace SOFI on the NTT: The installation and commissioning of SoXS <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/QH9yCL7EwMfk7pvVwfJ5VHz?domain=eso.org>  will start in Period 113. As a consequence, SOFI has been decommissioned and is not offered any more. EFOSC2 is offered in P113, but is expected to be decommissioned during Period 113 at a date to be announced on the LPO News web-page <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/uZhuCMwGxOt270lDkC2oXAP?domain=eso.org> .

We remind applicants of the following important messages:

1.	Distributed Peer Review: With effect from P110, ESO introduced a Distributed Peer Review (DPR) process for proposals requesting a total time (including overheads) of less than 16 hours, with the exception of proposals including at least one ToO run; proposals for Calibration Programmes; Joint proposals; and DDT proposals. All other proposals submitted for P113 will be reviewed in the usual way by the OPC and its sub-panels. PIs of proposals qualifying for DPR accept that their proposals are reviewed by ten peers who have also submitted proposals in P113, and consent to reviewing ten proposals submitted by their peers as laid out in the DPR rules and guidelines. <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/SQWCCNLJyQUZzrRJPcEIbkO?domain=eso.org>  The PI may elect to delegate the reviewer's role to one of the co-Is listed in the proposal.

2.	Visitor Mode: Requests for Visitor Mode observations may be submitted (and are encouraged for new users in particular) for P113, although any scheduled runs may need to be executed in Designated Visitor Mode <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/SPX2COMKzVTNM9GlZHmC2iN?domain=eso.org>  instead for operational reasons. Direct Qantas services between Sydney and Santiago operate 4 times per week, as well as daily services on LATAM via Auckland, and direct LATAM services between Melbourne and Santiago 3 times per week. ESO will pay for the costs of one visiting observer per run, and may also cover the costs of an accompanying student.

3.	Scientific keywords: Starting in P110, a new set of scientific keywords replaced the traditional 4 OPC categories. From the p1 interface <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/lexpCP7LAXf0Prl9NcxyjjC?domain=eso.org>  users must select at least two keywords, and at most five keywords (ten for Large Programmes). The keywords must be selected in decreasing order of relevance (i.e., the first selected keyword is the most relevant).

4.	Proposal anonymisation: The Dual-Anonymous Peer Review (DAPR) is now fully deployed, after being introduced successfully in Period 108. Applicants must formulate the scientific rationales of their proposals following these anonymisation rules and examples <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/wW52CQnMBZfXYExglU7pdha?domain=eso.org> , which includes a detailed description of the DAPR paradigm. Failure to abide by the DAPR rules may lead to the disqualification of the proposal.

Important Data Privacy Notice for all recent and intending Australian ESO applicants

ESO supplies AAL with telescope/instrument demand and time allocation data relating to Australian astronomers only. Australian ESO applicant data is used only for statistical purposes, and will only be published or made available to other third parties such as AAL member institutions, in aggregated and anonymised form. ESO’s data collection/use provisions are  <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/G2xMCROND2uGxkVo0fZsukD?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au> available on the AAL ESO Forum for reference. It may be necessary to use automated data matching from data provided to the  <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/K2COCVARKgC2YLvmkCZa7tY?domain=lens.datacentral.org.au> Data Central Lens proposal database to confirm the identity of ESO applicants. Applicants may opt out of providing data for Australian statistical purposes (including those from P101-P112 inclusive) by contacting  <mailto:Stuart.Ryder at astronomyaustralia.org.au> Stuart.Ryder at astronomyaustralia.org.au.

______________________________

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

T: +61 (02) 9372 4843

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

W:  <https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/VzxTCWLVXkU6VgkZXfRo1Vx?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au> https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/ViR8CXLW2mU4WyJjDs4PxCi?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au 

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

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