Call for Proposals

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Semester S11B: August 1, 2011 -- January 31, 2012*

*Actually available Open Use time in S11B is expected to be largely cut down (see Important Notice for S11B below).

Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Subaru Telescope invites observing proposals for Semester S11B. Applicants are required to download the application form from the Application Form page, and prepare submission following the instructions in How to Submit? page and relevant instrument page. Please also refer to our Open Use Policy. Regarding the status of the telescope, please see Telescope webpage.

Open Use Schedule for S11B

Application Form

Important Notice for S11B

Extensive Downtime in S11B	The Open Use Time in S11B is expected to be considerably reduced due to the commissioning works of Hyper Suprime Cam (a new very wide-field camera at the prime focus). The detail schedule has not been fixed yet.
Opening of FMOS High Resolution Mode (only IRS1)	FMOS (Fiber Multi-Object Spectrograph) is available for open use, but its operation will be conducted in a shared-risk mode. In S11B, on IRS1, the High Resolution mode (HR) is available as well as the Low Resolution mode (LR), while IRS2 will still be operated only in the LR mode. Please refer to the relevant webpage for more details regarding its HR mode on IRS1.
New Image Slicer in HDS	In S11B, a new image slicer (0.3 arcsec slit width ×5) for HDS will be avairable. Please note that the operation will be in a shared-risk mode. See the HDS page for more information. Those who intend to use it are encouraged to make contact with the HDS support astronomer in advance.
Change of Proposal Submission Address	Proposals should be sent to . Please note the address has been changed since S11A semester.
Note for AO188 LGS mode	The laser guide star (LGS) mode for AO188 is available for open use, but its operation will be conducted in a shared-risk mode. Observers who intend to use the LGS mode should make contact with the AO188 Support Astronomer in advance. Please refer to AO188 web page for details.
GTO Targets of FMOS and AO188	FMOS and AO188 teams are going to carry out Guaranteed Time Observations (GTO; allowed to each instrument team at the commissioning phase). Applicants for FMOS or AO188 are required to check the candidate fields/targets of FMOS GTO or AO188 GTO, though general open-use applicants are not prevented from observing these fields/targets.
Time Exchange Programs with Gemini and Keck	According to the inter-observatory time-exchange agreement, we accept proposals of observations with Gemini (North & South) and Keck telescopes, which will be screened by Subaru TAC within the framework of Subaru Call for Proposals. 4-8 nights (Gemini) and maximum 5 nights (Keck I or II) are available in S11B for this purpose. Those who have direct access to Gemini or Keck time must refrain from submitting proposals to this program. In S11B, normal (non-ToO) observations with Gemini will be executed in a 'classical' or 'queue' mode whichever you prefer. The exchange agreement with Gemini assumes that one classical night is equivalent to 7.5 hours of queue time. Submitting ToO (Target of Opportunity) proposals to Gemini telescope, except for GRB-related ones, is possible and welcomed. This Gemini ToO program will be executed in a queue mode. Please refer to Subaru/Gemini Time Exchange page and Subaru/Keck Time Exchange page for more details.
New Detector in FOCAS	The new detector system has been used for FOCAS observations since S11A. See the FOCAS page for more information.

Other Notice for Applicants

Time Allocation Basically One-night Unit	Telescope time allocation is basically made in units of one night. Half night allocation may be exceptionally possible, only if a suitable program can be found for the other half night.
Clarify the Set of S-Cam Filters	Suprime-Cam users must explicitly describe the filters they intend to use in Entry 11 'Instrument Requirements' (in the application form), where the desired set as well as the minimum acceptable set should be clearly specified. If you wish to bring your own filters, please read the User filter acceptance policy on the Suprime-Cam web pages carefully and submit the required documents (the certificate of actual size measurement and inspection report/data of optical characteristics) to Fumiaki Nakata by April 30, 2011.
Clarify the Number of MOIRCS/MOS Masks	MOIRCS/MOS users must explicitly describe the required number of masks in Entry 11 'Instrument Requirements' (in the application form), where the desired number as well as the minimum acceptable number should be clearly specified.
Duplicated Submission Unallowable	An identical proposal of the same science/targets using the same instrument/telescope should not be submitted twice at the same time through different TAC processes. For example, if a proposal using Keck/Gemini was once submitted to Subaru time-exchange program, it should not be applied to the ordinary proposal selection on Keck/Gemini side at the same semester. (And vice versa.)
Indication of Moon-affected unacceptable dates	When one particular source or several sources whose coordinates are concentrated to a particular range are planned to observe in bright or grey nights, observations may be severely affected by the Moon in some particular nights. In such cases, those inconvenient or unacceptable dates should be explicitly indicated in Entry 10 (Schedule Requirements) of the application form.
Proposal Update Limited	We apply a rule that the number of times for updating a registered proposal should not exceed two (i.e., allowable only up to 2nd revision).
FAQs and Tips on Electronic Submission	We have prepared a page where Frequently Asked Questions and useful Tips are summarized related to eletronic proposal submission. When you are in trouble, we recommend you to take a look at it first before sending us a question.
Remote Observation	Remote observations, conducted from the Hilo Base Facility, may be allowed for IRCS, HDS, Suprime-Cam, and MOIRCS (only imaging mode). Those who wish to perform the observations remotely should check the box in Entry 10 (Scheduling Requirements) of the application form, though the request may not necessarily be granted, depending on the instrument status and/or scheduling limitations. Please note that, as far as Suprime-Cam is concerned, observations will in principle be conducted remotely (irrespective of observer's intention) according to the policy of the observatory.