[ASA] ESO Period 118 Call for Proposals

[Stuart Ryder (AAL)]

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ESO Period 118 Call for Proposals
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has released the Call for Proposals for Period 118 for observations between 1 May 2027 – 30 April 2028. P118 marks the final occasion on which Australian astronomers can apply for ESO time under the Strategic Partnership on an equal basis as astronomers from ESO member states. However there will likely be limited further opportunities in 2027 through the Fast Track Channel (FTC) with staggered deadlines throughout P118.

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/C774CoV1kpf8Xy8nQH1fq8hpbLgK?domain=eso.org>)
  2.  New Technology Telescope (NTT<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/jFqICp81lrtyzRy27cDh2NhGirGO?domain=eso.org>)
  3.  Very Large Telescope (VLT<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/vILMCq71mwfROMRQVFQiKphEMTwb?domain=eso.org>)
  4.  Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/ifLWCr81nyt6AB6qWcys6Zh4unW5?domain=eso.org>).

The proposal deadline is Tuesday 22 September 2026 at noon Central European Summer Time (8pm AEST, 6pm AWST).

Complete details on how to apply can be found at the P118 Call for Proposals web page<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/0KpmCvl1rKi4Wk49RcotlxhQh4I4?domain=eso.org>. All applicants should consult the Call for Proposals document for Period 118<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/3S1pCwV1vMfPLwPj2h8uG6hJE2Fl?domain=eso.org> and are required to have an ESO User Portal<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/rhxJCxngwOfBJWBlzf2CEGhyBsGr?domain=eso.org> account to submit or be on proposals, as well as optimise their participation in Distributed Peer Review (if required) through the selection of appropriate keywords. Scientific keywords must be selected in decreasing order of relevance both in the proposals and the User Portal for a better assignment of the proposals to the reviewers expertise, so all PIs and Co-Is are urged to login to the User Portal and update their keywords as appropriate.

A wealth of information for Australian applicants can be found on AAL’s Australian ESO Forum<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/X3RECyojxQTJNBJ1pFyFm2hxC2D2?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>.


What's new in Period 118?

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the expected changes in instrumentation offered and procedures for Period 118 given in Sec. 2 of the Call for Proposals.<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/3S1pCwV1vMfPLwPj2h8uG6hJE2Fl?domain=eso.org> Among the items likely to be of most interest to the Australian community are:


  1.  The Son of X-Shooter (SOXS<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/MCRhCzvkyVCnRjn17fVH7Wh9Umka?domain=eso.org>) is offered for observations on the NTT, following the SOXS Operation Policies<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/_qQ1CANpgjCV9DVQ8fXI9mhGUMRu?domain=eso.org>.


  1.  FLAMES<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/M5kGCBNqjlCAVLAGyhPSyWh2vg8M?domain=eso.org> and PIONIER<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/3-t6CD1vlpTMB8M9yILTGxhj9QxL?domain=eso.org> are likely to be offered for the last time this Period, with plans to be decommissioned.



  1.  Programmes with ToO runs can now be scheduled even if they are in Rank B.



  1.  The KMOS Public Surveys<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/D6UXCE8wmrtnWZn7YfLUGNh7_WNd?domain=eso.org> have started in January 2026 and will span over 3 years, for a total of 285 nights. This increases pressure on UT1, due to the reduced amount of available open time.



  1.  ASGARD: A fraction of the observing time with the VLTI visitor instrument ASGARD is open to the community, pending the agreement between ESO and the ASGARD consortium and the successful review of the observing proposals by the OPC/DPR. A preliminary coordination with the ASGARD consortium is mandatory. Interested users can contact the consortium through the ASGARD website<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/7TrbCGv0oyCqJzq76ILcmXhBk8bQ?domain=community.asgard-vlti.org>. Proposing teams requesting the use of ASGARD should select the VLTIVISITOR instrument in p1.



  1.  MOONS: The Multi-Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph (MOONS<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/34XXCJyBrGfy8jyJVcWf34hyvQ-n?domain=eso.org>) commissioning on UT1 Nasmyth A is planned to start in August 2026. Science Verification is preliminarily planned for January 2027, pending successful commissioning. The instrument is foreseen to be available in P118 through the Fast Track Channel only, or in a late P117 FTC at the earliest.



  1.  The limit on the time request to qualify for Distributed Peer Review (DPR), rather than OPC review will be set after the proposal submission deadline. By submitting a proposal, the PI (or delegated reviewer) formally agrees to possibly serve as a reviewer in case their proposal is assigned to the DPR.



  1.  Following the first Fast Track Channel (FTC<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/AQpiCK1DvKT9qR9o6cVhBoh5LVku?domain=eso.org>) call 117A, which covers the observing period 1 Sep 2026 until 28 Feb 2027, a second FTC call 117B covering at least the last two months of P117 (i.e., 1 March 2027 until 30 April 2027) will be released before the end of the year. Note that proposals that were not allocated time in FTC 117A cannot be resubmitted to FTC 117B. Further updates concerning this second FTC call will be provided ahead of the call release via Science Newsletters.


  1.  As a reminder Normal Programmes and Monitoring Programmes can now request up to 200 hours. Large Programmes are being accepted in P118, and now cover up to two Periods (two years) with a minimum request of 200 hours of observing time. While the number of hours that Normal or Large Programmes may request have increased, the page limits for each proposal type are unchanged, with the maximum total length of the “Scientific rationale” section for Normal and Large Programmes being 2 pages and 5 pages, respectively (including figures and references). Due to the change to the YC and the uncertainty about the number of submitted proposals, in P117 the limit on the time request to qualify for the DPR will be set after the proposal submission deadline. Therefore, the review assignment method (DPR or OPC panels) will not be known to the PI at proposal submission time.


  1.  The ESPRESSO Laser Frequency Comb (LFC) is back in operations and offered for scientific use. However the NIRPS LFC is not functional and there is currently no expected recovery date.


  1.  Visitor Mode: P118 will be the final opportunity to apply for Visitor Mode observations, and have ESO pay for the costs of one visiting observer per run (and possibly also cover the costs of an accompanying student).



  1.  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 available on the AAL ESO Forum<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/IE3KCL7EwMfXPzXW7uyiDWhyU9u0?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au> for reference. It may be necessary to use automated data matching from data provided to the Data Central Lens proposal database<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/3aoNCMwGxOt95n9r7cAsZ9h8pVJn?domain=lens.datacentral.org.au> to confirm the identity of ESO applicants. Applicants may opt out of providing data for Australian statistical purposes (including those from P101-P117 inclusive) by contacting Stuart.Ryder at astronomyaustralia.org.au<mailto: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/oDvlCNLJyQU9Ng9WzcWt2OhyBCJi?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/UQALCOMKzVTwABw8MTKuB2hGlYRA?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au>
O: c/o AAO, 105 Delhi Rd, North Ryde, NSW 2113, Australia

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