Online Help for the NOAO

Standard Observing Proposal Web Form

DETAILS OF OBSERVING RUNS REQUESTED PAGE

Please enter the specified details for each of the observing runs that you have requested. The Observatory - Telescope combination that you indicated for each run on the previous page is listed along with the information needed to complete the observing run specifications. For longterm proposals specify only the runs for the current semester, and not for any subsequent semesters.

• Instrument/Detector. Select the instrument/detector combination from the pull-down menu for this run. If an entry in this list is proceeded with an "*" be sure to read further about this instrument's availability during this semester.

  For Gemini runs, press the "Resources" button, after selecting the instrument, for a list of instrument resources available for that particular setup. If you change the instrument selection after your initial selection of resources, press the button now called "Change" to bring up a new list of resources. Gemini instruments and resources must be specified through the Web form - do not attempt to edit this information in the LaTeX file. You must supply complete instrument and resource information through this proposal form.

  If you are planning to bring a Visitor Instrument for your CTIO or KPNO run, you must send a separate letter by email to noaoprop-letter@noao.edu prior to Apr 15 to make sure we fully understand what will be involved in interfacing your equipment to our telescopes.

• Number of Nights. Enter the number of nights requested for this run (for queue observing use 10-hour fractional equivalent nights, e.g. 3 hours = 0.3 nights) Partial nights may be specified as 6x1/2, for example.

• Moon. Using the pull-down menu select the optimal moon phase which can be utilized to accomplish your scientific goals for this run, which in turn reflects the number of nights from new moon where darkest<=3, dark<=7, grey<=10, bright<=14. Particular lunar phase requirements dictated by the science program (e.g., "<=12", "+9, -6", or "moon more than 2 hours away from Taurus") should be noted in the "Scheduling constraints and non-usable dates" section.

• Range of Optimal Months. Enter a single range of months for optimal scheduling for this run from the pull-down menus.

• Range of Acceptable Months. Enter a single range of acceptable months for this run from the pull-down menus. (i.e., you would not accept time outside those limits). NOTE THAT DUE TO INSTRUMENT BLOCKING RESTRICTIONS YOU SHOULD MAKE THE ACCEPTABLE RANGE AS GENEROUS AS POSSIBLE.

• Range of Right Ascension + Declination of principal targets. Enter R.A. in hours and Dec. in degrees (rounded to nearest integers), e.g. "23 to 6" or "-10 to +15".

Several instrument configuration parameters are requested. Fill these in as appropriate for each run. If you have questions about any of the parameters check out the appropriate instrument manual on the "Instrument Lists" page off the proposal home page. Configuration parameters or resources for Gemini are not included in the list below - the resources for Gemini are selected from menus generated through the Gemini run details page.

• Filters. List here any filters (including order separation filters) that you may need for this run, avoiding use of LaTeX symbols if possible. Use a comma separated list, i.e, B, V, R, Halpha, [SII]. If you are using non-standard KPNO filters, please include the KPNO Filter Number available on the Web (http://www.noao.edu/kpno/filters/filters.html).

• Slit width.If appropriate, enter the slit width(s) in arc seconds that will be used for this run, i.e., 1.7".

• Fiber cable.Select from the pull-down menu the fiber cable that will be used for this run. This option is only appropriate, but required, for the WIYN Spectrograph and CTIO/Hydra.

• Grating/grism.If appropriate, enter the grating/grism(s) that will be used with this run.

• Multislits. Select "yes" from the pull-down menu if you are requesting multi-slit spectroscopy.

• Order. Enter grating orders as appropriate.

• start and end. Enter the beginning and end of the required wavelength range if this is a spectroscopic run.

• Collimator. Enter the collimator needed as appropriate for your run requirements. Enter "red" or "blue" for the KPNO 4-m Echelle.

• Cross disperser. Enter the cross disperser appropriate for your run requirements. Only the KPNO 4-m Echelle has options for this parameter - see their instrument manuals for details.

• Atmos. disp. corr. An ADC (atmospheric dispersion corrector) is a "user selectable" option only for the KPNO 4-m R-C Spectrograph or the KPNO 4-m Echelle Spectrograph. Select "yes" or "no" if either of these instruments have been selected for this run, otherwise leave this field blank for all other telescope/instrument combinations.

There are up to two text fields in this section of the proposal form. These entries must be LaTeX-compatible. You may use LaTeX commands to indicate special symbols, inline math or equations, or tables. See our LaTeX Pointers document for help. You can either enter the text directly in the form provided (cutting and pasting works well, too) or in the case of the technical description attach a file that has been previously prepared (the attachment option requires that you are running a browser compatible with Netscape 2.0 or later).

• Technical description. Describe the observations to be made during this observing run. Justify the specific telescope, the number of nights, the instrument, and the lunar phase requested. List objects, coordinates, and magnitudes (or surface brightness, if appropriate) using a LaTeX-coded table in this section or optionally enter the target information in the Target Tables section of this form. Target Tables of objects are required for all Gemini runs, and for any runs requesting queue or service observations.

  Exposure time calculators (ETCs) for some optical and IR instruments in use at CTIO and at KPNO are available to assist you with the preparation of your proposal.

  • Imaging ETC

  • Spectroscopy ETC

• Special instrument requirements. Describe briefly any special or non-standard usage of instrumentation.

There are five parts to this section of the Web proposal form. Be sure to fill out each part. These entries must be LaTeX-compatible. You may use LaTeX commands to indicate special symbols, inline math or equations, or tables. See our LaTeX Pointers document for help. You can either enter the text directly in the form provided (cutting and pasting works well, too) or attach a file that has been previously prepared (the attachment option requires that you are running a browser compatible with Netscape 2.0 or later).

HINT: If you are doing multiple cuts/pastes into the same form window, be sure to set the cursor in the form window with the left mouse button just before you paste in the information with the middle mouse button. Note that you should only cut and paste from a text window and not from an editor like MS Word where special characters may be carried along with the text and cause problems later on down the processing chain.

Part 1: Abstract of Scientific Justification

Give a general abstract of the scientific justification appropriate for a non-specialist. Limit yourself to approximately 175 words. Abstracts of accepted proposals will be made publicly available.

Part 2: Scientific Justification

Give the scientific justification for the proposed observations, including the overall significance to astronomy. LIMIT TEXT TO ONE PAGE (the TAC has requested that we not send them more than one page) with figures (up to three), captions and references on no more than two additional pages. Figures that are included with this proposal may be referenced from this section, i.e., Figure 1, Figure 2, or Figure 3. Do NOT use LaTeX commands for embedding figures into this section, however.

References may be included at the end of this section using the "reference" environment, as in the example below (journal commands are compatible with AASTeX v4.0):

\begin{references}
\reference Armandroff \& Massey 1991 \aj, 102, 927.
\reference Berkhuijsen \& Humphreys 1989 \aap, 214, 68.
\reference Massey 1993 in Massive Stars: Their Lives in the Interstellar
  Medium (Review), ed. J. P. Cassinelli and E. B. Churchwell, p. 168.
\reference Massey \& Armandroff 1999, in prep.
\end{references}

Part 3: Experimental Design

This section should consist of text only. The length of this section is limited to a single printed page.

Describe your overall observational program. How will these observations contribute toward the accomplishment of the goals outlined in the science justification? If you've requested long-term status, justify why this is necessary for successful completion of the science.

Part 4: Use of Other Facilities or Resources

This section should consist of text only (no figures). Please limit to about a half page of printed text.

We are interested in understanding how observations made through NOAO observing opportunities complement or support data from other facilities both on the ground and in space. We will use this information to guide the evolution of the NOAO program.

a) Please describe how the proposed observations complement data from other facilities, including private observatories and both ground- and space-based telescopes. In addressing this question, take a broad view of your research program. Are the data to be obtained through this proposal going to help select samples for detailed observations using larger telescopes or from space observatories? Are these data going to be directly combined with data obtained elsewhere to test a hypothesis? Will these observations have relevance to other observations, even though the proposal stands on its own? For each of these other facilities, indicate the nature of the observations (yours or those of others), and describe the importance of the observations proposed here in the context of the entire program.

b) Do you currently have a grant that would provide resources to support the data processing, analysis, and publication of the observations proposed here?

Part 5: Previous Use of Facilities Available Through NOAO

How effectively have you used the facilities available through NOAO in the past? List allocations of telescope time on NOAO facilities to the Principal Investigator during the past 2 years, together with the current status of the data (cite publications where appropriate). Mark any allocations of time related to the current proposal with a \relatedwork{} command.

Target tables provided in this section are required for all Gemini programs, and for all queue or service runs. The information entered in these tables will be formatted for you as LaTeX tables and placed at the end of the appropriate run details section in the printed copy. The format and specifications for Gemini target tables differ from the other telescopes/instruments. Details about these target tables (and guide stars for Gemini) are provided on a separate page off the proposal home page - read this information before starting your tables.

Since target tables are tied to specific runs, you may not start a target table for a run until the run has been specified on the "Enter Observing Runs" page.

Gemini programs require that all the fields in the target tables be specified (except the comment).

Note that for iterative targets, only the parameters that need to be changed have to be specified. Once a parameter is specified in the table, it is retained until explicitly changed.

The fields in the non-Gemini target tables include:

  Object ID            use a unique 3-digit number for queue targets
  Object               if contains a '\' must write as '\_' for proper LaTeX.
  RA                   e.g., xx:xx:xx.x
  DEC                  e.g., +-xx:xx:xx.x
  Epoch                e.g., 1950.3
  Magnitude  
  Filter  
  Exposure time        in seconds PER EXPOSURE
  Number of exposures
  Days from new moon   use a number 0-14
  Sky condition        use "spec" or "phot"
  Seeing               max allowable PSF FWHM (arcsecs)
  Comment              20 characters maximum

  Object ID        unique 4-digit number assigned automatically
  Object           20 characters maximum
  RA               e.g., xx:xx:xx.x
  DEC              e.g., +-xx:xx:xx.x
  Epoch            all targets must be B1950 or J2000
  Magnitude
  Observation time total exposure time + overhead in minutes for all filters
  Image quality    these next 4 parameters are given as percentages as described at
  Cloud cover      http://www.us-gemini.noao.edu/sciops/ObsProcess/obsConstraints/obsConstraints.html
  Water vapor
  Sky background
  Guidestars       P=PWFS, 0=OIWFS, A=AOWFS, lower case=marginal selection
  Comment          20 characters maximum

Each proposal may include up to three figures and captions. For Web-prepared proposals two figure files may be placed side-by-side in one figure - this would be equivalent to \plottwo in LaTeX. The figure files should be well-behaved Encapsulated PostScript files. We will recompute a new bounding box for each figure file that is "attached" just in case the original bounding box is off a bit. If the "rotate" option is selected we will rotate the figure file and then compute a new bounding box for this rotated figure. All of these operations will modify the original PostScript figure file. If the figure contains only one figure file a "scaling factor" will be applied if that option is selected.

We will automatically place the figures for your Web-prepared proposal for you at the end of the "Scientific Justification" section of your proposal (please do not include any LaTeX figure commands in the "Scientific Justification", or any other part of your proposal form). You may adjust the "scaling factor" for single figures to improve the overall appearance of the figures in your proposal, as needed (use the "View PS File" button). The "scale" option is a no-op for side-by-side figures. You must be using a browser that is compatible with Netscape 2.0 or later to attach figures to your Web proposal form. Note that it may not be practical to submit figure files larger than 1 Mb through the Web proposal process.

If you plan to submit your proposal using the Web submission process then any figures that are part of your proposal must be "attached" (as unencoded files) to this proposal through the Web form provided. We ask that you not submit your proposal using the Web form and then plan to send the figures separately by email - we have no way to handle a "mixed" submission. You may, however, use the Web form to prepare your proposal, including any captions to your figures, and then have the LaTeX form emailed back to you for submission through the email submission process, if for some reason you can not "attach" your figures. Edit the returned LaTeX file, as needed, to correctly identify and scale your figures before you submit the proposal by email (instructions are in the LaTeX template). NOTE: If you plan to LaTeX your proposal locally and include figures you must have resident on your system an epsf.sty file - if you do not have this file you can FTP a copy from our anonymous FTP site at ftp.noao.edu, in the noao directory.

We do urge you, of course, to use the figure "attachment" option. If you are having problems with your figures, e.g., they will not place on the figure page correctly, perhaps we can assist you. Contact us at noaoprop-help@noao.edu, including your username for the proposal in question and the type of problem you are experiencing; we may be able to intervene at our end and fix things so they work for you.

Corollary

If you are experiencing figure placement problems with the proposal that you are going to send to us by electronic mail you may be having "BoundingBox" problems. In order for the \plotone and \plottwo commands to work properly your figure file must be an Encapsulated PostScript file with a reasonable "BoundingBox".

• All PS files must have a first line similar to the following, at least the "%!" must be present to identify the file as PostScript.

  %!PS-Adobe-3.0 EPSF-3.0
  ...
  

• An EPS file must have a "BoundingBox" at the beginning of it, as in the following header. If there is a "BoundingBox" but it is at the end of the file, move it.

  %!PS-Adobe-3.0 EPSF-3.0    
  %%Title: IRAF SGI plot
  %%Creator: sgi2ueps
  %%CreationDate: Thu Dec  3 10:38:03 1992
  %%BoundingBox: 72 396 540 708               <=====
  ...
  

  If your figure does not have a BoundingBox, or if it does but you are still having problems, you may be able to edit the file accordingly. Try this technique: send the PS figure to a PostScript printer and get a hardcopy of it.

        In Unix: lpr -P<printer> <filename>.ps
  

  Now with a ruler, measure the lower left corner of the plot relative to the left edge of the paper (llx) and the bottom of the paper (lly). Do the same for the upper right corner of the plot (urx, ury). Convert these numbers to PS units (1 inch = 72 PS units) and edit them into your file as in the following:

   
                 %%BoundingBox: <llx> <lly> <urx> <ury>
  

If you continue to have problems do not get discouraged. Contact us at noaoprop-help@noao.edu - we may be able to assist you.