October Call for Proposals

Gemini North and South are 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), October 31.
   • Reviews must be complete by 23:59 HST, November 14;
   • Results will be announced by November 21;
   • Observations must be ready by December 01 and will remain valid until the end of February;
   • FT observations will be merged with the queue and observed on queue nights. They will not be scheduled only on specific Fast Turnaround nights as was done previously.


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


3. Acceptable RA ranges
   • Targets from RA~23 hrs to ~16 hrs can be accepted during this cycle. Note that RAs near 23 will only be accessible for a few hours during the first month (December). RAs near 16 will only be accessible for a few hours during the final month (February).


4. Available instruments and observing modes
   • Gemini North and South are now participating in the FT program.
   • Gemini North
   • GMOS, GNIRS, and NIRI will be available most or all of Nov-Feb. NIFS will be available in late November and late January. There are only two LGS runs scheduled, partly during the NIFS runs. See the 15B semester schedule posted here. Instrument availability for February (16B) is not yet known, but GMOS and GNIRS are very likely to be available. Which of NIFS and NIRI is on the telescope will depend on the demand from the recent 16A call for proposals.
   • A limited amount of GRACES time is available for programs that could be accommodated in the December GRACES block. Please get in touch (fast dot turnaround at gemini dot edu) if you have questions about whether your proposal would fit.
   • Gemini South
   • GMOS and Flamingos-2 are available for FT proposals. A limited amount of GPI time is also available; please get in touch (fast dot turnaround at gemini dot edu) if you have questions about whether your proposal would fit. Due to operational restrictions, GSAOI/GeMS is not being offered at this time.
   • Please see the Gemini South telescope schedule for more information about instrument availability.
   • Both telescopes
   • For GMOS proposals, please indicate whether your program could be carried out with either GMOS (North or South).
   • The R600 grating in both GMOS instruments is not offered for FT (or regular queue) observations. At Gemini North, the R831 grating is not likely to be in the instrument frequently in 2015B, and users should consider whether one of the other gratings can meet their needs instead.
   • MOS observations are now available for FT, subject to some caveats/restrictions
   • 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
   • 20 hrs per month at each telescope is available for FT observations. 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).


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). Note that this is where the reviewer is defined; changes cannot be made after the proposal has been submitted.
   • We have created new, shorter Latex/Word templates for FT proposals (GemPhase1_FT.tex/doc). We encourage users to use these new templates, although participants using the old templates will not be penalized (as long as they stick to the page limits)
   • 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
   • Gemini South is now open for FT proposals