March 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), March 31
   • Reviews must be complete by 23:59 HST, April 14;
   • Results will be announced on April 21;
   • Observations must be ready by May 03 and will remain valid until the end of July;
   • 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~08 hrs – 20 hrs can be accepted during this cycle.
   • Approximate coordinates of targets in the current FT queue are given here.
   • March 20 update: dark time in the first half of the night is now under heavy pressure from accepted FT programs, especially in good conditions. Investigators whose science can tolerate sub-optimal conditions (e.g. IQ85, CC70, bright/grey time) are encouraged to apply. Proposals for targets at later RAs are also particularly welcome.


4. Available instruments and observing modes
   • Gemini North (only) is participating in the FT trial
   • GNIRS, NIFS, and Altair (natural guide star mode) are expected to be available for all FT nights in this period
   • NIRI is expected to be available for the July FT nights
   • GMOS will be available in May and June. The availability of GMOS in July depends on whether the CCD swap goes ahead as planned. This CfP will be updated if further information becomes available before the deadline.
   • A very limited amount of LGS time is potentially available (one FT night in each of May and June falls in a laser guide star run; the first half of the May 08 LGS night is now full of FT LGS targets - see the list of accepted proposals).
   • Although short observations can generally be accommodated on non-FT nights (see rule 10 ), the visiting instrument DSSI is not offered for FT proposals.
   • 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 information
   • Proposals must be submitted using the version of the Phase I Tool specified on this web page (in the "Time Requests" tab, select Fast Turnaround Observing at Gemini as the proposal class).
   • In the Time Requests tab, select "Fast Turnaround Observing at Gemini" as the proposal class and specify the reviewer (and mentor, if appropriate).
   • Please use the GemPhase1.tex/doc template to prepare the pdf required by the PIT, following the page limits specified in that file.
   • Submitting the same proposal more than once during a given cycle (e.g. after correcting/editing a submitted version) should be avoided if at all possible.


7. Changes to rules/policies since last CfP
   • None.