New and Notable Changes in 2019B

The following announcements are notable for the 2019B semester. Please see the relevant instrument pages and subsections of the call for proposals for details.

General:

  • Gemini North will not be available from August 01 to August 23 2019 for the annual planned preventive maintenance.
  • Gemini South will not be available for at least two weeks during the middle of August (exact dates TBD) for the annual planned preventive maintenance.
  • Subaru Telescope's actual start of the 2019B semester will be late September or early October due to the main shutter maintenance.
     

Observing Mode:

  • Classic mode observation is available but it may require very strong justification.
  • Priority Visitor (PV) Observing mode is mainly dedicated for Large & Long Programs but still available only for Band 1 Queue program if the PIs request. (PV mode)
  • Target of Opportunity (ToO) mode will follow the general rules applied for the Gemini full partners. (click here for more information)
     

Proposal Routes:
Regular proposal is available as it has been in the previous semester as follow:

  • Joint Proposal : Korean Gemini users can submit Joint Proposal by collaborating with the PIs of other Gemini international partners. (Joint Proposal)
  • Subaru-Gemini exchange Proposal : Korean Gemini users can apply for observing time of the Subaru Telescope through the Time Exchange program. (Exchange Time)
  • Subaru HSC queue filler program Gemini community can also propose Hyper Supreme Cam queue "filler" program. Filler programs are executed in poor observing conditions (typically seeing >1.5 arcseconds, and/or poor transparency), up to 35 hours can be requested by a filler proposal. Execution is not guaranteed: observations are made only when there is no other program in the HSC queue. In recent semesters, typically of order 15% of HSC time has gone to filler programs. Applications may be submitted once per semester, the next deadline for filler proposals is April 4th 3:00 am (UT). Proposals must be sent through the Subaru submission system (NOT Gemini), and are considered only by the Subaru TAC. Note that only a short text summary of the program is required, not a full detailed Science Justification. The HSC queue filler program takes no time exchange cost. (HSC filler programs)
  • Poor weather program is available, and can be submitted at the time of regular Call for Proposal or any time during semester. Poor weather programs will be placed in Band 4, and neither the PI nor partner country will be charged for any time used. (Poor weather programs)
  • Director’s Discretionary Time (DDT) is also available. It’s, in fact, been available for any astronomer worldwide. (DDT)
  • Fast Turnaround (FT) program is available since Feb. 2019. FT runs by monthly-based submission and assessment. The total FT time per partner may not exceed 10% of the total partner’s time for a given semester. (FT)
  • Large and Long program (LLP) is not available as of now. There will be a discussion in the near future how to coordinate LLP for the Korean user community. (LLP)

 

Call for Proposal for Gemini / 2019B

Observing Period

  • Aug 1. 2019 ~ Jan 31. 2020
     

Available Hours

  • ~117.3 hours (Gemini North: 58.4 hours, Gemini South: 58.9 hours)
     

Instruments

Check out the availability and restrictions of the instruments for 2019B semester in the following Gemini page : click here 

Proposal Submission

Proposers must use Gemini Phase-I Tool PIT. The PIT is a downloadable application that is used to provide "front-page" information including the title, abstract, and contact info for the investigators. Instrument configuration details, target coordinates, and observing constraints are also included in PIT. "Essay" sections are included in a single PDF attachment, which can be prepared using an MS Word or LaTeX template. Detailed help pages and video tutorials are available on the Gemini web site.

Please consider these suggestions and guidelines when preparing your proposal:

  • Please use the template that can be found at the PIT software distribution site (the link will be announced when ready) to prepare the Essay section (please use non-US version of template, GemPhase1.doc or GemPhase1.tex; for the reference, check the previous call for proposal pages).
  • The scientific justification page has one-page limit for the text. Two additional pages can be used for references and figures. For page limits of other part of the essay, please refer to the description in the templates.
  • Be sure to include example Integration Time Calculator (ITC) output -- please see the instructions in the template.
  • When PI is a graduate student, please clarify who is his/her thesis advisor in the scheduling request section within the PIT.

For more details, please refer to Gemini’s page at http://www.gemini.edu/sciops/observing-gemini.