DATE: Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:29:15 +1000 SUBJECT: Call for Proposals for ANU/RSAA 2.3 telescope time Nov 2009 - Jan 2010 Dear Observer, The closing date for observing proposals for time on the ANU/RSAA 2.3m telescope at Siding Spring Observatory (SSO) in the quarter NOV 2009 - JAN 2010 is midnight August 15, 2009. *************************** PLEASE NOTE *********************************** (1) Proposals for use of the 2.3m will only be considered if the PI is from the ANU or from another institution that contributes financially or has recently contributed financially and directly to the building and/or operations of the 2.3m telescope and its commissioned instruments. These institutions include those that collaborated on the successful ARC LIEF bid to fund the Blue Arm of the WiFeS spectrograph. All such proposals will be judged on their scientific merit alone. There will be no quotas placed on the amount of time available for qualifying institutions. These policies will remain in place for the present. A further review will be held before the end of October 2009 and any change announced in the Call for Proposals announcement at that time. (2) The new WiFeS instrument is performing well, generally meeting its specifications and producing excellent data. At the present time, however, the instrument and its associated systems are not fully commissioned and should be regarded as available only on a 'shared-risks' basis. For this reason it is a requirement that everyone intending to observe with WiFeS must have undertake at least two nights of observing with an experienced WiFeS observer prior to the commencement of their own time to allow familiarization with the methods of operating the instrument. Failure to undertake this training may result in the loss of any allocated time. Contact the TAC Chair, Prof Gary Da Costa (gdc@mso.anu.edu.au) for the current list of experienced WiFeS observers. The current version of the WiFeS Observing Manual can be found at http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/observing/wifes/WiFeS_Obs_Manual.pdf. This manual and other information on WiFeS (see http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/observing/sso-wiki/index.php/WiFeS_Main_Page) are being updated regularly as commissioning and science verification of the instrument progresses. *************************************************************************** Instruments available: Nasymth A: WiFeS Nasymth B: Imager or echelle. Observing proposals must be submitted electronically via the RSAA web pages. Full instructions are available at http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/observing/. You will need the most recent versions of the template and style files which can be obtained from the web pages. Information on telescopes, instruments and detectors can be found at the SSO observing Wiki page: http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/observing/ssowiki/index.php If you have technical problems in using this web-based submission process, please email tacinfo@mso.anu.edu.au. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADDITIONAL NOTES: . Limit your scientific case to TWO pages. Further pages will not be read. . Visiting observers are expected to bring their own Exabyte or DAT tapes for back-up, or to purchase them from RSAA. Gary Da Costa Chair, TAC ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Prof Gary S Da Costa Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics, ANU Mt Stromlo Observatory via Cotter Rd, Weston Creek, ACT 2611, Australia Phone: +61 2 6125 8913 FAX: +61 2 6125 0233 E-mail: gdc@mso.anu.edu.au ------------------------------------------------------------------------