Call for Proposals 2020B - SOAR Opportunities

Submitted by jelias on Tue, 2020-03-03 14:33

Instruments: All instruments that were available in the previous semester, including TripleSpec 4.1, are currently available. See the links in the "Astronomers" tab, above, for specifics.

Queue scheduling: For semester 2020B, SOAR will continue to offer queue time through the AEON network. Because we have a stable operation, we can now confidently support proposals that require the flexibility the AEON queue offers, in particular programs requiring small amounts of time spread over the semester, or where targets are not entirely predictable. AEON remains the recommended choice for programs with a large number of targets distributed over the sky, as well as those where monthly or bi-weekly cadences are required. We cannot generally support higher cadences (e.g., weekly) unless demand increases sufficiently; exceptions may be possible where the higher cadence is only required for a portion of the semester. Note that we can and do support observations of solar system objects using non-sidereal tracking.

At present, we can only commit to supporting the Goodman spectrograph in 2020B, however will be able to support both red and blue cameras and additional configurations where demand warrants. Specifically, we would add the blue camera if demand warrants, along with additional blue or high-resolution configurations for either or both cameras.

Time is allocated based on TAC priority and the AEON queue is currently filled at 100%, so the expected fraction of clear time is the same as for classical observing. Investigators receiving time through all SOAR partners are eligible to participate; time continues to be allocated by the individual partners.

Please consult the AEON pages for further details and for contact information if you have questions the website doesn't answer.

Targets of Opportunity: SOAR support target of opportunity programs; for specifics of the policy see here.

Remote Observing Options: SOAR robustly supports remote observing. However, we have elected to waive some of our requirements for first-time observers due to potential travel difficulties. (See the visiting astronomer page for details.) In addition, queue observing is an option that provides additional flexibility to proposers - see the description above.