The main proposal deadline for AAT time in Semester 11A (February 2011 - July 2011) is:
Wednesday, 15 September 2010, at 23:59
(Australian Eastern Standard Time, i.e. UTC + 10 hrs).
(Australian Eastern Standard Time, i.e. UTC + 10 hrs).
(A separate OPTICON proposal call closed on September 1. European-led and dominated proposals can still apply for non-OPTICON AAT time through ATAC by the deadline above.)
New Large Program Call (Semester 2011A)
The AAOmega spectrograph and 2dF top-end combination currently has no Large Programs planned for Semester 11A, but is likely to be unavailable in semester 12B for a prolonged time when the HERMES high-resolution multi-object spectrograph is commissioned. Given these circumstances, the AAO is issuing this special Request for Proposals (RfP) for Large Programs using part or all of the period from semester 11A to 12B (i.e. from February 2011 to February 2013, inclusive). For full details, please see the Request for Proposals.
Anyone considering submitting a Large Observing Program proposal should contact the AAO Director in advance to discuss their plans.
Important notes for 11A applicants
- All AAT proposals will be evaluated by ATAC. The fractional access to the AAT in Semester 11A is: 70% Australian: 30% Other-nations. Included in the Other-nations share is up to 10 nights of OPTICON time awarded by the OPTICON TAC. New applicants should familiarise themselves with the method of time accounting.
- Separate OPTICON call and time allocation: The OPTICON consortium operate a separate Time Allocation Committee, (distinct from ATAC), with an earlier submission deadline (1 September 2010, 12pm UT). ATAC will also get the opportunity to read and rank OPTICON proposals and award non-OPTICON AAT time (albeit unfunded by OPTICON) to those of sufficiently high merit.
- CYCLOPS, a cassegrain-mounted fibre feed for UCLES will continue to be offered on a shared-risks basis in 11A. CYCLOPS offers an improved way of feeding light to UCLES while preserving spectral resolution, (although can only be used with the 79 l/mm grating). However, a number of caveats currently diminish efficient use of the instrument, and interested users are urged to consult with the UCLES Instrument Scientist (Gayandhi de Silva) before planning a proposal. The UCLES instrument pages contain more information.
- 2dF top-end maintenance time could be possibly be scheduled for a few weeks in July/August 2011, subject to instrument need and relative demand. During this time it will be unavailable.
- Travel Support: Australian-based AAT observers are eligible for AAO Travel and Accommodation support. Note that some aspects of claiming this support have changed since last semester, such as the application form.
How to Apply for AAT Time - the Basic Steps
- All ATAC applicants should check the latest Instrument Availability and other recent policy announcements. If you require further clarification on any issue, then please contact the AAT Technical Secretary, Gayandhi de Silva (aatts -@- aao.gov.au).
- Special rules apply for proposals seeking time as an override on another program's time, as well as those seeking long term status. Proposals requiring at most 6 hours of observing time should be submitted to the AAO's Service Observing program.
- Prepare your main proposal details offline, including a proposal abstract, target list, and scientific justification.
-
When your proposal details are ready, submit your
application to ATAC (by September 15, 2010) through the
AAT online proposal form.
Note that it is possible to Save a partially-completed form and return to it later.
However, we strongly recommend that you keep your own record of the information
entered into the form.
OR Ensure you have submitted your European OPTICON-eligible proposal to the OPTICON TAC through their proposal pages (the deadline for this was 1 September 2010). - Fill in and submit an Instrument Request Form. You will automatically be led to this web-based form from the proposal submission form.
Observing semesters and closing dates:
| Semester | Observing Dates | Proposal Deadline | AATAC meeting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11A | 1 Feb 2011 - 31 Jul 2011 | 15 Sep 2010 | Nov 2010 |
| 11B | 1 Aug 2011 - 31 Jan 2010 | 15 March 2011 | May 2011 |
Contacting the ATAC Secretariat:
| The Secretary, ATAC Anglo-Australian Observatory PO Box 296 Epping NSW 1710 Australia |
|
| Phone: +61 (0)2 9372 4812 | Fax: +61 (0)2 9372 4880 |
| Email enquiries: Helen Woods (hmw -@- aao.gov.au) |
Gayandhi de Silva, AAT Technical Secretary, aatts -@- aao.gov.au