Caltech Optical Observatories

Call for Proposals - 2009A

This Call is CLOSED

Proposals Were Due Friday 26 September 2008

This Material Provided For Reference Only

Proposals for observing time in the first semester of 2009 will be accepted from the Caltech Faculty, Research Fellows, Research Associates, Post-Doctoral Scholars, Senior Research Staff and Students. Observing time will be allocated at the following telescopes:

• Keck I and Keck II, with limited opportunity for exchange observing at the Gemini North, Gemini South and Subaru telescopes.
• Palomar 200-inch telescope.
• Palomar 60-inch telescope.
• Palomar Oschin telescope.

Due date for proposals: Friday, September 26, 2008

To receive up-dates to this Call for Proposals, please send an e-mail to brucato@astro.caltech.edu with the word Updates in the subject line.

Eligibility

All Caltech Faculty, Senior Research Associates, Senior Research Fellows, Post Doctoral Scholars and Senior Research Staff are eligible to apply for observing time within Caltech allocations at the Keck Observatory and the Palomar Observatory. There is no restriction on the number of Palomar proposals that a researcher may submit. Similarly, Faculty and Senior Research Associates may submit any number of Keck proposals but Senior Research Fellows, Post Doctoral Scholars and Senior Research Staff are limited to one Keck proposal (as principal investigator) per semester. Students may apply for time at the 200-inch or 60-inch telescopes only. Applicants must be in residence at Caltech at the time proposals are submitted.

Proposal Format

Each proposal should cover a single, coherent, well-defined scientific topic (do not submit a collection of unrelated projects as a single proposal) and should contain the following elements:

• Discussion - A SHORT description of the project, explaining the scientific goals and methodology, and justifying the time and equipment requested. Proposals for new projects should include an estimate of the total time required to complete the work. Those for continuing projects should give the status of previously obtained data and provide an estimate of the observing time required to finish the project. Explain any constraints that may affect scheduling. (see also TAC criteria). The TAC requires a maximum of two sides of 11 or 12-pt, single-spaced text with appropriate margins, and up to 2 sides of diagrams, tables and references.
• Observing List - Provide a list of targets to be observed, including names, coordinates, magnitudes (and band).
• Thesis Project - If the project is in support of an approved thesis project, give an estimate of the total amount of observing time required, the amount already allocated and the status of the data already in hand.

In addition, you should submit a single, two-part document in support of your proposals.

• Part I - Observing History: List the observing time allocated to you for all projects in the last four semesters and summarize the status of each.
• Part II - Bibliography - Provide a bibliography of your refereed papers based on Keck (or from observing time awarded through Keck trades) and/or Palomar data, published or submitted for publication during the last two years.

Attach your report (as a pdf document) to an e-mail to brucato@astro.caltech.edu (not later than 5:00 p.m., Friday, September 26, 2008) with the subject line in the following form: [your last name]-History. (For example: Kepler-History)

If your project involves the use of more than one telescope, you must submit separate cover sheets (which means separate emails) for each telescope. The descriptive material need be attached only to the proposal for the primary telescope. Important: Do not bury the cover sheets for the secondary telescopes within the primary proposal.

Within two days, you will receive an e-mail confirming receipt of each of your proposals. If you do not receive this confirmation, contact Robert Brucato at brucato@astro.caltech.edu immediately.

Target of Opportunity Projects

The Caltech Optical Observatories supports its Target of Opportunity (ToO) program to enable its researchers to acquire data on unexpected, transient events by allowing interruption of regularly scheduled programs of Caltech observers at the Keck telescopes and the Palomar 200-inch telescope. In such cases, the observer at the telescope is obliged to set aside his or her program and make specific observations on behalf of the ToO researcher.

Details of the ToO Program:

• ToO projects are restricted to Caltech researchers and must be approved by the Time Allocation Committee
• Such projects must be among the applicant's highest priority requests for time on the telescope involved.
• ToO interrupts may be invoked only when a participating Caltech observer is at the telescope. Faculty are required to support ToO interrupts; post-doctoral scholars assigned time as PIs may elect or decline to participate.
• Each ToO interrupt should be restricted to a reasonable total time per night so as not to undermine community support. A maximum of 2 hours per night is suggested except in exceptional circumstances. Shorter interrupts are the norm.
• There will be no payback time or other compensation for interrupted observers.
• Unused time assigned to a ToO program will not be carried forward to the next semester.
• All PIs who are allocated observing time will be given brief details of the successful ToO programs from previous years.
• An override may be activated only when the available equipment and moonlight conditions are consistent with the TAC recommendations. Seeing and photometric conditions are not a condition for any override.
• When a ToO PI wishes to activate his or her program, it will be sufficient to telephone the observatory and describe the requirements to the observer. Observers who are supporting ToO observing must comply with the request regardless of the state of her or his own program after completing the exposure then in progress and any necessary calibration exposures that cannot conveniently be completed in twilight. If the exposure is part of a longer sequence, that sequence must nevertheless be curtailed.
• Interrupt time is measured from the completion of the regular observer's exposure and necessary calibration, to the same point for the ToO override.
• The scheduled observer will send an e-mail to the ToO PI (copy to brucato@astro.caltech.edu) immediately upon completion of the observing run, reporting on the time devoted to ToO observations and providing any relevant comments. The observer will deliver the necessary data to the ToO PI. Similarly the ToO PI will send an e-mail to brucato@astro.caltech.edu reporting on time used for each interrupt, with an account of the status of the ToO project. The PI will report to the Director at the end of each observing semester with a complete account of the status of their ToO projects, time invoked, etc.

To Apply for Keck Time

Follow the procedures at http://www.keckobservatory.org/observing.php Applying for Keck Telescope Time.

Keck is using an on-line system that features a password system to allow observers to retrieve and modify their cover sheets. With this system, you will be able to

• to load cover sheets from previous years
• see and modify your personal profile in the Keck database
• view your upcoming Keck observing time and support team
• (in the future) submit mask and instrument configuration data

Keck will send announcements and account information to all observers with e-mail addresses within the Keck database; new observers or those who do not receive account information may request an account from the cover sheet page.

When finished, combine your cover sheet, the discussion and observing list into a single .pdf document (see note below) and attach it to an e-mail to brucato@astro.caltech.edu (not later than 5:00 p.m., Friday, September 26, 2008). The subject line of the message should be in the following form: [your last name]-[Telescope]-[Your Proposal Number] For example: Kepler-Keck2-02

Important: One proposal per e-mail

The Keck web site provides numerous useful links to information you will need to prepare your proposal, including instrument availability, instrument specifications, etc. Notwithstanding statements to the contrary in the Keck application information, requests should be for full nights only. The Caltech TAC will not approve split- or shared-night proposals.

Special Notes:

• Notes on the Keck instruments are at http://www2.keck.hawaii.edu/observing/instavail.html
• LRIS will be out of service in February for up-grade work. It is expected to be available for shared-risk observing during the March and April dark runs.
• Keck Observatory has arranged time exchanges with the Subaru Observatory (up to six nights) and the Gemini Observatory (up to five nights) for the 2009A semester, with Caltech's initial shares being up to 3 nights at Subaru (Suprime-Cam, MOIRCS) and up to 2 nights at Gemini [MICHELLE (Gemini/North), T-ReCS (Gemini/South), NIRI/non-AO (Gemini/North)].
• NIRC (on Keck I) and NIRSPAO (NIRSPEC with AO, on Keck II) each will be available for only one observing run in 2009A, with the exact timing to be determined by the requests. At least three nights of observing time with NIRSPAO need to be allocated for the instrument to be scheduled.
• Keck will support up to 70 nights of LGS observing in 2009A; Caltech's (initial) share is 23 nights. If you request LGS time, you must designate a back-up program using either AO/NGS or a non-AO instrument. Note that NIRSPEC/non-AO cannot be the back-up for NIRSPAO.
• Keck will support up to seven nights of Interferometer V² and/or Nuller observing. All Interferometer proposals will be reviewed by the Keck staff prior to the TAC meeting.

To Apply for Palomar Time

Fill in the on-line cover sheet at http://www.astro.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/TAC/palcover.cgi Palomar Cover Sheet. When finished, combine your cover sheet, the discussion and observing list into a single .pdf document (see note below) and attach it to an e-mail to brucato@astro.caltech.edu (not later than 5:00 p.m., Friday, September 26, 2008). The subject line of the message should be in the following form: [your last name]-[Telescope]-[Your Proposal Number]. For example: Kepler-P200-02 .

Important: One proposal per e-mail

Special Notes:

• The Laser Guide Star system (LGS) at the 200-inch Telescope will not be available for observing in 2009A.

200-inch Telescope - Large Projects

The Director and the Observatory Council wish to encourage the large scale observing projects by individuals or teams of researchers that take advantage of the ability of the COO administration to make long-term commitments of observing time to utilize the facilities at the 200-inch telescope to attack problems that would be difficult to engage within the constraints of semi-annual allocations. Observing time granted for Large Projects will be distributed through the semester. If time is requested in subsequent semesters, the TAC may make provisional allocations. Requests to continue Large Projects should include a status report in the discussion. Large Projects already allocated time in two semesters must be completely resubmitted with a comprehensive status report if additional time is sought.

The PIs of Large Projects are obliged to contribute, intellectually and financially, to the COO's effort in support of Education and Public Outreach. The proposal discussion must include a clear statement of the provisions to satisfy this obligation.

Large Projects should:

• Encourage use of core instrumentation for innovative programs, especially by post doctoral scholars.
• Require at least 8 nights of observing time per semester for 2 semesters.

200-inch Telescope - Instruments

The following table lists the instruments available for use in 2008B.

The private instruments listed in the following table may be requested by prior agreement with the contact named.

60-inch Telescope

The Palomar 60-inch telescope is now fully automated and may be used only with the dedicated 2Kx2K CCD camera. Twenty percent of the science time is available for general observing by Caltech researchers. Successful applicants for 60-inch time will be asked to coordinate their programs with Shri Kulkarni and Fiona Harrison, who will manage the overall queue schedule. Observing targets will be scheduled by the software: a priori sequencing or specific time windows can be accommodated only in extraordinary circumstances; contact Fiona Harrison for details.

The Oschin Telescope

The Oschin Telescope will be out of service during the early part of the semester for installation of the MOSAIC camera. When operations resume, twenty percent of the science time at the Oschin Telescope will be available Caltech observers. The TAC will award observing time, contingent on the operational status of the telescope.

Shared-Risk Observing

• to interrupt the science observing to adjust or modify the instrument,
• to perform on-sky test measurements,
• to obtain copies of the observer's data to evaluate its performance.

The Time Allocation Process

Proposals are evaluated by members of the TAC based on:

• Scientific merit - Projects should address problems of significant scientific interest. The applicant should demonstrate a thorough grasp of the physics of the problem and the status of current work by other investigators.
• Technical Feasibility - The applicant must demonstrate that the choice of telescope and instrument is appropriate, especially for Keck proposals.
• Applicant's publication record - The applicant should show a history of timely publication of the results of previous observing allocations.
• Support of thesis work - If appropriate, the applicant should explain how the proposed observations will be used in support of approved thesis projects.
• Service to the Caltech astronomy community - Consideration will be given to applicants who contribute to the Caltech academic environment by serving on committees, interacting with others, participating in instrument developments, etc.

A few days after close of applications, PIs will receive spreadsheet summaries of all the applications received to check for errors or omissions in the entries for their proposals.

Starting with the highest ranked project, nights will be assigned according to the recommendations of the TAC and the applicant's stated preferences. If all available nights in the applicant's preferred and acceptable observing runs have been allocated to proposals with higher grades, no time will be assigned. By this process, it is conceivable that a proposal with restrictive dates will receive no time, while time may be allocated to a less restrictive proposal with a lower grade. In general, it is of benefit to the applicant to maximize the allocation possibilities, by entering Acceptable whenever possible allowing for target position and season.

For Keck projects, the successful proposals and the allocations recommended by the TAC will be passed to CARA for scheduling. For the Palomar 200, the Caltech, JPL and Cornell allocations will be merged to achieve the final schedule.

Schedules should be available in early December, at which time the Director will send a memo to each PI summarizing the TAC results, allocations, and substantive comments made during the TAC discussions.

Note on Merging pdf Documents

To merge the two separate PDF files for your cover page and scientific justification, you will need to use a tool capable of writing PDF files. Acrobat Reader will not work, but the full version of Acrobat (to which Caltech has a site license) can be used. (In Acrobat 8, select "Combine Files" from the "File" menu.) Our Unix machines also contain the program "joinpdf", which can be used to combine two PDF files. For more details and links to other software for combining PDF files, see the web page: www.astro.caltech.edu/palomar/mergepdf.html

27 August 2008 - RJB