Proposals & Updates for Time on Optical/IR Telescopes
FORMS
Time on all Optical/IR UAO telescopes is allocated in two semesters: roughly Feb-July (A) and August-January (B). Proposal deadlines are now October 1 and April 1, or a nearby date if the time falls on a weekend: See the call for proposals email. Late proposals will not be considered.
GTO proposals are due October 22, 2024.
INSTRUCTIONS
All proposers (general and GTO partners) should submit electronically the processed pdf version to our new proposal submission site.
Make sure to download the current proposal template file soprop.tex and class file soprop.cls, which are required to produce the pdf file that is uploaded by the electronic submission form. Your proposal will not be processed by the automated account if you use an outdated version of the template files.
NEWS & UPDATES ABOUT TELESCOPES AND INSTRUMENT
We update these notes whenever we're given new news. It's always safest to contact the PI of an instrument or someone at the observatory in question. Information is also available from the independent telescope websites.
LLAMAS : Contact Rob Simcoe (simcoe@space.mit.edu) well before applying
MagAO-X: Please talk to Jared Males (jrmales@arizona.edu) before applying.
Michigan/Magellan IFUM- Mario Mateo is the PI of a set of three IFU systems for Magellan/Clay. Contact him (mmateo@umich.edu) for more information and to propose. Here is some information: Three fiber-fed IFUs: Low Surface Brightness (LSB) at 1.90 arcsec/spaxel and 18x20 spaxels, Standard-seeing (STD at 1.09 pixels per spaxel with 23x24 spaxels, High Resolution (HR) with 0.54 arcssec per spaxel and 27x32 spaxels. Resolutions range from 1000 to 38000. All three modes support three different resolutions; IFUs user-deployable but only one can be used at a time; Optical Layout: Hexagonal lenslet array defines field. Barlow lenses modify field scale to make lenslets, fiber mounts more manageable; Occultors (focal plane masks) available to block bright sources in field; User-selected slit mechanism to choose spectral resolution (at cost of light loss); IFU-M fibers feed MSpec (the spectrograph for M2FS) and can use all MSpec features (order isolation, spectral resolutions, CCD configs, etc.); contact Mario or the TAC Chairman for a table of IFU parameters and other information.
MAGELLAN/M2FS: proposals for M2FS require agreement from PI (Dr. Mario Mateo, UMichigan) and require adhering to specific guidelines. Proposers should contact him well in advance of our deadline. Observers with ongoing M2FS projects should (a) remind Mario that this project has been approved by M2FS team in the past, (b) ask if it's still approved, and (c) provide an estimate for number of nights. The Steward contact is Dr. Edward Olszewski. M2FS is a pair of fiber-fed spectrographs (on Clay) that can operate at high resolution (echelle), medium resolution (echellette), or low resolution (regular grating) in many possible configurations (for instance, echelle in one spectrograph and low-res grating in the other). New configurations are possible with the purchase of relatively-inexpensive order-blocking filters.
WIFIS (Wide Integral-Field Infrared Spectrograph): WIFIS is still available for 2024B on the Bok 2.3m. One should consult with Suresh Sivanandam or Dae-Sik Moon (first two sentences here updates 3/11/24). There are two ways to propose. First (and recommended) are joint proposals with the WIFIS team (Dae-Sik Moon and Suresh Sivanandam). Second, the team has agreed to support a limited number of independent programs (proposers should consult with them on technical details) as long as enough nights of joint programs are scheduled (5 nights). Information about the WIFIS instrument is available in this published paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/1809.03512. Contact Dr. Suresh Sivanandam for details. (3/11/24)
90prime: Please read https://so-90prime.github.io/#23b and talk to Dave Sand.
SPOL: Through Steward Observatory's partnership with KASI, a new lens that has very good transmission of light down to the near-UV atmospheric cutoff at about 3200 Angstroms is now available for use in SPOL. Previously, polarimetry at wavelengths to the blue of about 4000 Angstroms had been impossible. Science programs not needing measurements of polarization at wavelengths <4500 Angstroms should still utilize the old "red" lens because of its superior throughput in the red and the fact that it is able to reach an acceptable focus over a broader wavelength range than the new "blue" lens. In addition, a new, larger aperture for imaging polarimetry has been installed in SPOL. The new aperture measures 100" x 60" at the 90" and 61" telescopes and 37" x 22" at the MMT. (Contact Paul Smith for information.)
Arizona Robotic Telescope Network (ARTN): Remote observing with ARTN at the 61" + Mont4K is now supported by Mtn Ops. BUT please contact Dave Sand before submitting a proposal.
Proposals for Time on ARO Telescopes
The Arizona Radio Observatory (ARO) at regular intervals solicits proposals for the 10-meter Sub-millimeter Telescope (SMT) located on Mount Graham, Arizona, and the new ALMA Prototype 12-meter Telescope (12m) located on Kitt Peak, Arizona. There will be an email call for proposals. The new ARO website is HERE.