February 2015 Call for Proposals

Gemini North is accepting proposals for the Fast Turnaround (FT) pilot program. Here, we give information specific to this proposal cycle. Please see the other FT pages - particularly the rules - for general information about the program.

1. Important dates
   • Proposal deadline: 23:59, Hawaiian Standard Time (HST), February 28
   • Reviews must be complete by 23:59 HST, March 14;
   • Results will be announced on March 21;
   • Observations must be ready by April 03 and will remain valid until the end of June;
   • Observations will be executed on scheduled Fast Turnaround nights as shown here.


2. Eligibility
   • PIs from all partners taking part in the FT program may apply for this cycle.
   • PIs from partner countries whose FT time for the semester has been used up should not apply for the remainder of the semester. Currently, no partners have reached their limit. See the rules and Q&A for more information.


3. Acceptable RA ranges
   • Targets from RA~07 hrs – 19 hrs can be accepted during this cycle.
   • Approximate coordinates of targets in the current FT queue are given here.


4. Available instruments and observing modes
   • Gemini North (only) is participating in the FT trial
   • GMOS, GNIRS, and Altair (natural guide star mode) are expected to be available at all times
   • NIRI is scheduled for April, followed by NIFS in May and June
   • A very limited amount of LGS time is potentially available (one FT night in May falls in a laser guide star run)
   • See the 2015A telescope schedule for details about instrument availability.
   • MOS observations are not available through the Fast Turnaround program. As discussed in the rules and Q&A, please contact the Fast Turnaround team in advance of the deadline if you would like to propose for an unusual instrument configuration or observing mode.


5. Time available
   • Assuming typical weather loss, we expect to have about 20 useable hours to allocate to FT programs during this cycle. Very roughly, this implies:
     • i. 4 hrs of 20%-ile conditions (IQ=20, for example; see this web page)
     • ii. 10 hrs of 50%-ile conditions
     • iii. 14 hrs of 70%-ile conditions
     • iv. 17 hrs of 85%-ile conditions
   • PIs may propose for up to roughly the amount of time in their most restrictive observing conditions (see the rules).
   • While very good conditions can be requested, please note that FT observations will be executed in a “mini-queue” on dedicated nights with no compensation for weather losses.


6. PIT version
   • Proposals m