The deadline for the submission of GTC, INT, Stella, Mercator, NOT, TNG, and LT proposals for Spanish CAT night observing time for semester 2019B is Wednesday, 3 April 2019, at 22:59 h Canarian local time (23:59 CEST, 21:59 UT).

The call for collaborative proposals between Spanish and Mexican astronomers at the GTC and GTM will be issued when the conversations that are being held to combine both telescopes following the agreement of this joint time are concluded.

• We recall that every proposal within the Spanish CAT scheme must be led by a principal  investigator (PI) affiliated to an Institution in Spanish soil. 

• The start and end of the semester change with telescope as illustrated next:
  • INT, Stella:   August – January.
  • NOT, TNG, Mercator:   October – March. 
  • GTC:   September – February. 
  • Liverpool (LT):   July – February (a two-month overlap period is adopted at the start and end of each semester, when proposals from both semesters may be observed in order to reduce problems with under-filled observations queues).

• Large programs requesting observing time with LT, Mercator, Stella, and/or INT are accepted.  See below.

• Proposals in visitor mode (including those of GTC) should include a proper backup scientific program that does not require good weather conditions. The backup program is also evaluated by the CAT.

• The application http://cat.iac.es does allow to request multiple observations using different instruments and telescopes, including GTC. 

• Proposals are evaluated at the next meeting of the CAT and recommendations are made to the Director of the various Observatories/Telescopes. 

Please, read carefully the following highlights and recommendations made for each telescope and for large programs. There are IMPORTANT changes with respect to previous calls for proposals. Pay special attention to the new (latex, word, pages) form for the preparation of proposals.

To submit proposals, see “how to submit” at the end of this document.

GTC

Detailed information about the feature of GTC for this semester can be found on the GTC call for proposals. A short summary is provided next:

• In semester 2019B, no Large Programs are offered.
• HORuS, OSIRIS, EMIR, MEGARA, CANARICAM, and HiPERCAM are offered in this call. CIRCE is no longer offered. 
• HORuS high resolution spectrograph is offered as a visiting instrument starting on July 2019.
• MEGARA spectrograph of GTC that has both IFU and MOS intermediate-to-high spectral resolution capabilities, both of which are offered in the call-for-proposals.
• EMIR broad- and narrow-band imaging, long-slit and MOS spectroscopy are offered. All applicants are recommended to read the instrument manual carefully.
• OSIRIS “imaging” (broad-band, SHARDS filters, tunable filters, and NEFER),  “spectroscopy” (long-slit, MOS), and “frame transfer and fast photometry” are offered. Multi-Object Spectroscopy (MOS) observations will be part of the observing queue only if the proposals are ranked in bands A and B of the Spanish CAT final list. However, any proposal in band C that has the MOS masks already fabricated from previous semesters will be also included in the observing queue (still in band C). Applicants must indicate whether their MOS masks are to be fabricated or are available from previous semesters (there is a box named “masks” in the submission tool http://cat.iac.es). For overheads related to the various observing modes, see the GTC document. 
• HiPERCAM is a high-speed, five-band imager and a new GTC visitor instrument (Principal Investigator vik.dhillon [at] sheffield.ac.uk (Vik Dhillon)). It is offered quite likely between September and October, 2019. All HiPERCAM observations should be concentrated in this period.
• CANARICAM is offered on a shared risk basis between October and December 2019. 
• For the calculation of overheads, the GTC Observatory strongly recommends the use of the following Phase 2 simulator.
• Visitor programs are welcome, but will only be admitted whenever they fall in bands A and B. C-band proposals requesting visitor mode will be included in the observing queue, but are not admitted as “visitor”. The applicants must clearly indicate they are applying for visitor mode. A backup program (in visitor mode) should be defined in the case the observing conditions for the main program are not met.
• Target-of-opportunity (ToO) proposals are accepted (see here and here for further details). ToO proposals will be recommended with their corresponding priority whenever they fall in bands A and B of the ranked proposal list. ToO proposals in band C will not be approved.
• For all approved proposals (bands A, B, C, and filler), GTC Phase 2 information must be submitted to the GTC at the deadline corresponding to the semester in which the proposal is accepted.

IMPORTANT NOTES. 

• CANARICAM and HIPERCAM will likely not be available during 2020. Applicants should take advantage of this opportunity window.
• OSIRIS is expected to be dismounted at the end of 2019B, and will likely not be available in semester 2020A. The CAT will consider carefully programs that require OSIRIS for completing projects in 2019B.
• HORuS is offered for an extended period from 1st July 2019 onwards.
• The Observatory announces that the R. A. range 10 – 12 h is highly over-subscribed, whereas the R. A. interval 3 – 7 h and bright moon time are generally less demanded.

• Starting in semester 2019A, all proposals (including ToO) will be ranked in bands A, B, C, and filler. Principal Investigators of A-, B-, and C-ranked proposals and filler projects must complete GTC Phase 2 of ALL approved observations in due time. The bands assigned to each proposal are defined as follows:

  • A-band proposals have very high priority and all possible efforts will be made to execute all of the required/approved observations in the requested semester. If for any reason, A-band proposals remain unfinished by the end of the corresponding semester, the existing GTC Phase 2 will be granted an extended life-time of two additional semesters, or until its completion, whichever comes first. Unfinished A-band proposals do not have to be re-submitted in the following two semesters because of their carry-over status. Approximately one quarter (according to the CAT ranking) of the total amount of GTC available observing time falls in this band.
  • B-band proposals will be executed on a best-effort basis during the requested semester, and do not have a carry-over status. Approximately three quarters (according to the CAT ranking) of the total amount of GTC available observing time falls in this band. 
  • C-band proposals will be executed in extraordinary cases when no A- or B-band objects are available but the good weather conditions permit observations during the requested semester. C-band proposals do have very little opportunity of execution until completion of the project, yet they are included in the GTC observing queue. 
  • Filler proposals, see below.

PROTECTED OBJECTS. Due to the execution of Guaranteed Time Observations (GTO) of various instrumental teams, all applicants are kindly requested to check the list of protected objects here (follow the links to the corresponding instrument). Protected objects cannot be proposed for observation by other users, unless an instrumental setup different to that of the GTO is required.

FILLER PROPOSALS: In order to have an efficient queue-scheduled observations scheme for the GTC, it is useful to have a set of “filler” programs that can be executed under adverse observing conditions (bad seeing, poor sky transmission, etc.). Filler proposals must request common-user instruments (OSIRIS, EMIR, MEGARA) with simple instrumental configurations (filler proposals should not request OSIRIS MOS or tunable filter observations) and must contain targets spanning a wide range in right ascension (RA). Filler proposals will only be executed if the observing conditions do not permit observations of proposals in A-, B-, or C-bands. Proposers may request filler status for their program, and during the proposal selection process CAT will evaluate their suitability for this category. Such proposals can request a large number of observing hours. In order to be considered as filler proposals they must fulfil the following requirements:

• Their observing requirements should be very relaxed, i.e. little or no restrictions on seeing or cloud coverage. 
• The chosen observing mode should be a frequently used mode (MOS observations are not accepted for filler programs).
• There is a scientific gain even if only a small fraction of the requested observations are executed.
• A list of targets with a broad RA coverage is provided or,  if only few targets are included, they must have good visibility during the semester.
• Filler proposals cannot contain ToOs.

Note that filler proposals have generally been highly successful in the last semesters. 

Filler proposals must be identified by ticking the “filler” box in the proposal submission tool http://cat.iac.es.

WHT

WHT is not offered in semester 2019B due to the installation of WEAVE. See more information in the  ING call for proposals.

The available 2019B WHT nights, 1 August – 1 September 2019, will be used to allow the completion of the highest-priority ongoing science programs. 

INT 

Detailed information provided by the ING Observatory can be found in the ING call for proposals. All potential applicants must become familiar with the series of changes in instrument availability and of observing time at the WHT and INT driven by the arrival of new survey instruments. The changes are summarized here. 

The main changes for 2019B are:

• See the complete list of ING instruments here. Offered instruments are: 
  • INT: IDS, WFC.
• Applicants are encouraged to submit proposals for large time allocations, even within one semester.
• Large program proposals requiring INT over two semesters (2019B and 2020A) can be submitted. Any instrument can be requested in this category. The number of nights available for large programs are indicated below. 
• At the INT, service observations of approved CAT programs are offered through collaboration with the INT student support astronomers. Details are provided in page 3 of the ING call for proposals.

About 35% of the observing time at the WHT is managed by CAT. Starting from semester 2013B, 20% of the time is distributed to the best-ranked proposals from the Spanish community, and the remaining 15% will be reserved for proposals led by PIs affiliated to the IAC.

NOT

Offered instruments are listed here. Updates with respect to previous semesters are as follows:

• A set of two holographic diffuser are available to do high-precision photometry with ALFOSC. The diffuser effectively scrambled the incoming light, providing a more constant and optimal (`top-head’) shape, with minimal light loss, significantly reducing any systematic effects in the photometry. The diffusers provides a very stable stellar image with a width (~FWHM) of 5 and 7 arcsec, respectively. Read here for more information.
• The SOFIN high-resolution Echelle spectrograph is again available. It is offered only to do circular spectro-polarimetry with the medium-resolution (R~80,000) camera. SOFIN is not a common-user instrument: only limited support is provided, and explicit approval for a proposal should be obtained. 

TNG

Offered instruments (GIANO-B, HARPS-N, Nics, Dolores, GIARPS = GIANO-B+HARPS-N) are summarized here.

• October nights are not available for technical reasons.
• The GIARPS configuration (simultaneous use of HARPS-N and GIANO-B) is offered on shared risk  mode. Please provide a backup program with one instrument only (HARPS-N or GIANO-B) in case the GIARPS configuration is not available.
• Objects included in the TNG Protected Target List (GAPS collaboration) cannot be requested.
• The execution of the observations related to the long-term program A38TAC_29, “Follow-up of electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational wave sources at TNG”, may have a significant impact on the schedule of the semester 2019B.

STELLA

The instruments WiFSIP and SES are offered:

• WiFSIP: the small-band filters and H-beta narrow and wide are not available. WiFSIP gets a new CCD in October 2018, featuring twice-as-fast readout and better cosmetics.
• SES has no change with respect to previous calls for proposals. 

Liverpool Telescope (LT)

The offered instruments for 2019B are available here. Note the following points:

• LT will not be available for a period of two weeks in the summer due to the recoating of the primary mirror. 
• In addition to applying for telescope time through the CAT twice-yearly process, LT now also allows observers to apply for PriorityZ time via: http://telescope.livjm.ac.uk/PropInst/PriorityZ
  PriorityZ time is defined as time when there is no A, B or C-ranked science group available for the scheduling software to pick, and so the telescope would otherwise sit idle. This can occur during periods of poor seeing during full moon, or during times of instrument failure. We estimate approximately 10-15 hours of such time are available per month, although this can of course vary significantly. PriorityZ time is well-suited to long-term proposals of bright targets with no significant time constraints. We would typically expect to approve a PriorityZ proposal for a period of two years. Observers can apply via the web form available at the above link, and proposals will be assessed internally by LT staff. Proposals can be submitted at any time.

• Check the restrictions and guidance notes for the Liverpool Telescope.

Mercator Telescope

Offered instruments (HERMES and MAIA) can be found at Mercator. The low-resolution, high stability mode of HERMES is no longer available. Instead, the high-resolution mode is slightly more efficient, and a mode in which the object’s spectrum is interleaved with a simultaneous ThArNe exposure is offered.

 

A new guiding mode on the spectrographic telescope is introduced, which allows now guiding in close visual binaries separated by at least 3 arcsec (the spectrograph’s entrance pinhole diameter). This works for faint companions as well.

Large programs

Large programs are expected to accommodate projects that require long-term or synoptic coverage, and large-size projects. They must satisfy these four requirements: 

• involve novel ideas, opportunities for great advance, or legacy programs, 
• span between two and four semesters, 
• publicly release their final high-level products in an appropriate format, and 
• be led by a Spanish institution (a large fraction of the team should be affiliated to a Spanish institution).

Considering the time allocated to on-going large-programs, in 2019B the following time is available for Large Programs:

• TNG: no large program.
• WHT: this telescope is not offered in 2019B.
• INT: 30 nights per semester (maximum of two semesters).
• NOT: no large program.
• Mercator: 20 nights per semester (maximum of four semesters).
• Liverpool: 100 h per semester (up to a maximum of four semesters).
• Stellar-SES and Stella-WiFSIP: 60 h per robotic telescope and semester.
• GTC: not offered for large programs in 2019B.  

All large programs will be evaluated by the CAT and advised by external expert referees, based on the above criteria. Yearly progress reports are expected, and a final report to the CAT is due at the end of the project.  Raw data from long-term programs will follow the same proprietary period as regular proposals. Up to 66% of the time distributed by the CAT on the Liverpool (LT), Mercator, STELLA, and INT, up to 33% of the time on NOT and TNG, and up to 15% of the time on the WHT may be assigned to large programs.

UPDATED on 4 Mar 2019.