[ASA] ESO Period 116 Call for Proposals

Fri Feb 28 11:25:38 AEDT 2025

ESO Period 116 Call for Proposals

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has released the Call for Proposals for Period 116 (for observations between 1 October 2025 – 30 April 2026. Note this is 1 month longer than normal, to accommodate the transition to a Yearly Cycle from P117 – see below. 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://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/9QcpCk81N9tqBZokXU2fyTGTWc_?domain=eso.org> )
2.	New Technology Telescope (NTT <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/Te86Clx1NjizED61PT9hVTz9XBY?domain=eso.org> )
3.	Very Large Telescope (VLT <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/YFjiCmO5gluRlGkpPfBiJTRBnKT?domain=eso.org> ) 
4.	Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/wpQ8Cnx1jni6DQrX3sZsPTJ_MZ6?domain=eso.org> ).

The proposal deadline is Thursday 20 March 2025 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 the  <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/77ysCoV1kpfKYJ6DPiOtoTpgU09?domain=eso.org> P116 Call for Proposals web page. All applicants should consult the  <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/zrjrCp81lrtxoPp9Os2uDTGFWMS?domain=eso.org> Call for Proposals document for Period 116 and are required to update their  <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/eJRsCq71mwf7NGJ1kiqCzTEGy4v?domain=eso.org> ESO User Portal accounts to submit or be on proposals, as well as optimise their participation in Distributed Peer Review (if required) through the selection of appropriate keywords. 

A wealth of information for Australian applicants can be found on AAL’s  <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/9XAhCr81nytDZX4rnUQFyT4wnTj?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 116?

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the expected changes in instrumentation offered and procedures for Period 116 given in  <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/zrjrCp81lrtxoPp9Os2uDTGFWMS?domain=eso.org> Sec. 2 of the Call for Proposals. Among the items likely to be of most interest to the Australian community are:

1.	Impending changes to Proposal Cycle: The ESO Call for Proposals will move to a Yearly Cycle (YC) starting from P117 <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/CHx5Cvl1rKiy8orELiwH5TQSGJ2?domain=eso.org> . The Call for Proposals for P117 is foreseen to be released in Aug 2025 with a deadline for proposal submission in late-Sep 2025. The P117 observing period is planned to start on 1 May 2026 and end on 30 April 2027. The definitions of proposal types will be adjusted then, e.g. Normal Programmes will cover an observing period of one year and will be allowed to request up to 200 hours of observing time. A Fast Track Channel (FTC) will be offered initially two times per Period and will be available only for VLT/I Normal Programmes requesting less than a maximum observation time (likely between 15 and 30 hours). A maximum fraction of the total VLT/I observing time (10-30%) will be reserved to the FTC. FTC proposals will be evaluated within the DPR system, and approved FTC programmes will be scheduled for observations within a few months from the proposal submissions.

2.	No Large Programme proposals accepted in P116: Large Programme proposals are only accepted once per year. Due to the transition from the current six month Periods to the new yearly cycle, the next opportunity to submit new Large Programme proposals will be deferred until P117. They will cover an observing period of two years and must request a minimum of 200 hours of observing time over 1–2 years.

3.	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://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/-ftfCwV1vMfRxXgvVflImTJyAu2?domain=eso.org>  by telescope and by Right Ascension. Proposals exploiting less favourable weather constraints for UT1 are particularly encouraged. The telescope pressure at UT4 for 9h < RA < 15h with Turbulence Category ≤ 50% and dark or grey time remains very high due to ongoing Large Programmes. Note that KMOS will host public surveys over 3 years from P116, while commissioning of MOONS on UT1 as well as integrating lasers on UT1, UT2 and UT3 for GRAVITY+ will reduce the available time for science by several weeks on these telescopes.

4.	Joint VLT/I-ALMA proposals: ESO has a joint channel for scientific programmes requiring both VLT/I observations and ALMA observations. 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://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/JKaeCxngwOfQvKPLRUxSQTyefFn?domain=eso.org> . ESO has confirmed that ALMA would always treat an Australian-led Joint VLT/I-ALMA proposal as “ <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/_bsaCyojxQTyoEA72igTRTxtMna?domain=almascience.eso.org> Open Skies”, regardless of whether they get their time allocated through  <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/1KTtCzvkyVCmqvOGwixU9T9229w?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://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/JCM7CANpgjC1OMGZltncjTGSGG_?domain=help.almascience.org> ALMA helpdesk.

5.	MUSE Wide Field Mode with Adaptive Optics: Astronomers are encouraged to use the MUSE Wide Field Mode with Adaptive Optics, because it is more efficient and suitable than non-AO for most science cases. While the non-AO mode is essential for programmes gathering information over the 582–597 nm wavelength which is otherwise blocked by the Na Notch filter, the benefits of AO are many-fold. Not only are the operations at the telescope routine, but importantly seeing is improved in any observing conditions (poor seeing, light cirrus, high wind speed) while proven to be more stable during long exposure times. In case no Natural Guide Star is available, the so-called Tip-Tilt-free mode using the telescope field stabilisation still provides a significant improvement on image quality. As a result, shorter exposure times are required in AO mode to reach equivalent signal-to-noise.

6.	Simultaneous usage of HARPS and NIRPS on the 3.6m: NIRPS <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/xOWKCBNqjlClK3zDRuEf8T29fu0?domain=eso.org>  and HARPS <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/sVtbCD1vlpTOAQDoJfEhlTjkfHP?domain=eso.org>  can be used simultaneously to collect spectra from 380nm to 1919nm (with a gap from 689nm to 974nm) in a single acquisition. 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. The NIR Laser Frequency Comb for NIRPS is now functional (data analysis is on-going) and will be available during P116 on a best effort basis.

7.	Monitoring Programmes: Monitoring Programmes will be offered in Period 116 for observations over two periods: P116 and P117, corresponding to a time interval of one year and seven months. Monitoring Programmes for ESPRESSO are only offered in 1-UT mode.

We remind applicants of the following important policies:

1.	Distributed Peer Review: ESO uses 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 P116 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 P116, and consent to reviewing ten proposals submitted by their peers as laid out in the DPR rules and guidelines. <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/c8ZmCE8wmrt6xKkl0soiZT7MWcr?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 P116, although any scheduled runs may need to be executed in Designated Visitor Mode <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/zzd5CGv0oyCL4o2BOiNsxTBgVKK?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: From the p1 interface <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/Dz2LCJyBrGfQwPgBAU9tGTyjezz?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: Under the Dual-Anonymous Peer Review (DAPR) policy applicants must formulate the scientific rationales of their proposals following these anonymisation rules and examples <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/QJiNCK1DvKTrW0ZDMUOuvT59f5U?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.

5.	If Artificial Intelligence services are used to help write a proposal, the PI remains responsible for the content of the proposal and ensuring the text is properly referenced according to normal scientific standards.

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://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/FZ_ACL7EwMfY95lkwi2COTyoVNI?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://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/xF51CMwGxOt63Gv2ksDF3T8ItyB?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-P115 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://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/mCmdCNLJyQUM31wZPfLHkTyR85r?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au> https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/NsEwCOMKzVT2xoENZuMIATGvOBk?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au 

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

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