Gemini Observatory invites its community to propose scientific investigations for the 2020B semester, 1 August 2020 - 31 January 2021
The table below shows submission deadlines for (i) all Gemini Participants, (ii) the Subaru community under the Gemini/Subaru time exchange, and (iii) the French community under the GRACES collaboration. Multi-participant joint proposals should be submitted by the deadline of the participant country to which the Principal Investigator is affiliated. For more on the Gemini proposal submission and time allocation process, please consult the Phase I page.
| Participant | Submission Deadline |
| United States | April 07, 2020 at 23:59 (Mountain Standard Time) |
| Canada | April 07, 2020 at 16:00 (Pacific Daylight Time) |
| Brazil | April 07, 2020 at 23:59 (Brazilian Time) |
| Argentina | April 03, 2020 at 17:00 (Argentina Time) |
| Korea | April 07, 2020 at 23:59 (Korean Time) |
| Chile | April 06, 2020 at 23:59 (Chile Time) |
| U. of Hawaii | April 06, 2020 at 10:00 (Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time) |
| Subaru Community | March 31, 2020 at 23:59 (Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time) |
| French Community | N/A |
The Call is open to all participants and host institutions : Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Korea, the United States, Chile and the University of Hawaii. US time is open to all astronomers worldwide including those at non-US institutions, although in that case the proposal must explain why U.S. national facilities are needed. The distribution of time across the partners is available in the time distribution table.
New and Notable in 2020B!
The following capabilities and announcements are notable for the 2020B semester. Please see the relevant instrument pages and subsections of the call for proposals for details. General:
Visiting Instruments:
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Summary of 2020B Gemini Capabilities
Gemini North
Targets are generally limited to 18 < RA hours < 13.5 and -37 < DEC degrees < +90. There are additional constraints as described in the target accessibility and instrument restrictions page. |
Facility instruments offered in 2020B, in queue or classical mode, are:
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Visiting instruments offered in 2020B (subject to demand) are:
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Gemini South
Targets are generally limited to 16 < RA hours < 12 and -90° < dec < +28°. There are additional constraints as described in the target accessibility and instrument restrictions page. |
Facility instruments offered in 2020B, in queue or classical mode, are:
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Visiting instruments offered in 2020B (subject to demand) are:
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Important Dates for 2020B
The deadline for Phase I submission varies with participant (see the submission deadline Table at the top of this CfP). For successful proposals, both queue and classical, the Phase II submission deadlines are 20 July 2020 for Gemini North and 20 August 2020 for Gemini South. Check this web page for key dates and events in the proposal process.
Phase I Submission Guidelines for 2020B
Proposals for time on Gemini, and for time on Subaru via the Gemini-Subaru time exchange program, must use the Gemini Phase I Tool (PIT). Latex and Word templates are available to create a pdf attachment which includes the science and technical cases. See the PIT page for installation information and the PIT help pages for assistance. Investigators proposing for facility instruments are requested to include the output from the integration time calculators in the proposal. Investigators proposing for POLISH-2 or MAROON-X visiting instrument must use the generic "visitor" instrument option in the PIT resource list, select Gemini North, and then enter POLISH-2 or MAROON-X for the instrument name.
Note that, following the Board resolution 2016.A.2, the time for baseline partner calibrations for the Gemini facility instruments is automatically added to the total time requested for each target in the PIT. Investigators should continue to include the time associated to overheads (acquisition time, readout time, etc) in the total time estimated for each target in the PIT. The ITC output now gives overhead estimates. Alopeke and Zorro PI's should include program time for PSF standards if they need them. See the Observing Section in the PIT help pages for details.
Time Available in 2020B
The time available for each participant and host institution in 2020B is shown on the time distribution page. At Gemini North, 156 nights are expected to be available for science. At Gemini South, 157 nights are expected to be available for science.
Subaru Exchange Time
The exchange of time between the Gemini and Subaru communities will continue in 2020B. Gemini and Subaru expect to be able to exchange a minimum of 5 nights in semester 2020B. PIs from the Gemini community are encouraged to propose for observations on Subaru. Relevant information:
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Facility instruments offered in 2020B:
Visiting instruments offered in 2020B (limited to one or two runs):
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Priority Visitor Observing Mode
In Priority Visitor Observing, a visiting observer comes to the Observatory for a block exceeding their program's time allocation, and elects when to carry out their program within that block. This may be when conditions are within their requirement, better than their requirement or even fail to meet their requirement. If time remains on the program after the observing time is complete, the program carries on in the regular queue with priority given by the TAC-assigned science ranking band. When not executing their own program the visiting observer will execute other Gemini queue observations. PV observing mode is offered as a possibility for band 1 queue programs in 2020B. Investigators wishing to have their program considered for PV observing should indicate their desire to participate in the Technical Design portion of their 2020B queue proposal.
Other Proposal Opportunities in 2020B
Other proposal opportunities are available at Gemini Observatory in 2020B. These include:
- Large And Long Programs (LLPs) are Principal Investigator-defined and -driven programs that are expected to require either significantly more time than a partner typically approves for a single program, or extends over two to six semesters, or both. Up to 20% of the available time from participating parters (US and Canada) is available for LLPs. LLP proposals are currently being accepted from PIs based at an institution of one of the participating partner countries and who have submitted a letter of intent by the appropriate deadline. The 2020B LLPs proposal submission deadline is April 7, 2020 at 23:59 (Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time). Further information on LLPs and the LLP proposal process can be found on the Large And Long Programs page. Information on previously accepted LLPs and their science programs is available here.
- The Fast Turnaround (FT) Program provides monthly opportunities to submit proposals, with successful programs scheduled for observation starting one month after each proposal deadline. Up to 10% of the time at Gemini North and Gemini South is available for the FT programs.
- Director's Discretionary Time is open to any astronomer worldwide and proposals can be submitted at any time.
- Poor Weather Proposals are solicited for programs that can use poor, but usable, conditions and are executed when nothing in the regular queue is observable. Proposals can be submitted via the normal TAC process (this call) or at any time.
- For Semester 2020B, the Gemini community is also eligible to propose HyperSuprimeCam (HSC)filler programs on Subaru. Filler programs are executed in poor observing conditions (typically seeing >1.5 arcseconds, and/or poor transparency), up to 35 hours can be requested by a filler proposal. Execution is not guaranteed: observations are made only when there is no other program in the HSC queue. In recent semesters, typically of order 15% of HSC time has gone to filler programs. Applications may be submitted once per semester, the next deadline for filler proposals is April 7, 2020 3:00 am (UT). Proposals must be sent through the Subaru submission system (NOT Gemini), and are considered only by the Subaru TAC. Note that only a short text summary of the program is required, not a full detailed Science Justification.
Bring One, Get One: Travel Assistance Program
The Gemini Observatory, at the request of its Users' Committee, would like to encourage visits by students and other early-career observers to observing runs (attending Queue, Classical, or Priority Visiting Observing). In semester 2020B, the Gemini Observatory may subsidize with up to US$2000 the travel expenses of individual undergraduate and grad students, and other early career observers, visiting Gemini North or South, when accompanying a senior observer. The "Bring One, Get One" Student Observer Support Program" page provides details on this program, which is subject to the availability of funds.
Remote Eavesdropping
Remote Eavesdropping will be available in 2020B for all queue programs. Investigators will be invited to sign up for eavesdropping via the PI email announcing they have been granted time.
Data Rights, Proprietary periods and Data Distribution
All data taken with the Gemini telescopes are the property of the Gemini Observatory. Principal investigators of Gemini regular programs (Queue/Classical/Poor Weather) have exclusive access to the data for their program for a period of 12 months. After the proprietary period the data are publicly available. See the page Data Rights and Proprietary Periods for more information.
All data, including raw and available processed data, obtained with the Gemini telescope are distributed exclusively through the Gemini Observatory Archive. More information about the data distribution is given here.
Supporting information to the Call for Proposals
Relevant general information related to the applications for time on Gemini Telescopes is presented in the supporting information page. Consult there for the following:
- Time Allocation Process (National and International Time Allocation Committees)
- Submitting for time on both telescopes
- Band 1 Persistence
- Electronic PIT Submission
- Joint Proposals
- Under-utilized Instruments
- Rapid Response or Target of Opportunity
- GMOS Mask definitions
- Poor Weather Programs
- Exchange Time
- Target information (guide stars, non-sidereal objects, time-specific observations)
- Duplicate Observations
Prospective users should also refer to the target and instrument accessibility page, and the instrument pages for detailed and up to date information on instrumentation.
Questions and Answers
All questions concerning proposals, or any other subject, should be made using the Gemini HelpDesk. This web-based system will send the request to your National Gemini Office staff in the first instance who will escalate it to Gemini staff if necessary.
Comments and suggestions on the format and content of this page and supporting pages are welcome, and should be sent to Marie Lemoine-Busserolle.
