Applying for time at NOT

Call for proposals CCI International Time Programme
Deadline: Sunday, February 28, 2010

5% of the observing time at the Canarian observatories is allocated to international teams for periods of up to two years directly through the CCI International Time Programme. The ITP programme has its own proposal form which can be accessed here. Note that as of this call, the 10m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) will be included in the ITP programme.

Proposals for programmes requiring up to 4 hours of observing time in service mode can be submitted at any time through the 'Fast-Track Service Programme'.

• The Call for Proposals and NOTFORM proposal package
• Who can apply?
• Deadlines
• How do I apply for observing time at NOT?
• Available instrumentation

The OPTICON Trans-National Access Programme provides access for all qualified European researchers to all modern European 2-4m class telescopes at good observing sites world-wide. Proposals are submitted and evaluated through the regular procedures of each facility; if time is granted, travel for the observer will be covered from the EC grant to OPTICON under Framework Programme 6. All further details on the programme are available from the OPTICON Access Office.
Important: Note that some of these facilities have proposal deadlines much earlier than those at NOT, in some cases as early as March 15/September 15!

Who can apply?

• Anybody regardless of nationality, affiliation, or status, can apply for NOT time.

• All proposals are judged competitively and ranked solely on the basis of scientific merit by the NOT Observing Programmes Committee (OPC).

• While most observing time on NOT is used for projects with Nordic P.I.s and/or collaborators, proposals from purely non-Nordic investigators are ranked on an equal basis and awarded time if the scientific case is sufficiently competitive.

• In short, NOT encourages applications from anyone with a first-rate project!

• Proposers from EU Member and Associate States may be eligible for EU support for observing travel to NOT and several other European telescopes through the OPTICON Trans-National Access Programme. See here for information on the possibilities, criteria, and conditions of this programme. NOTE: Nordic or Spanish project teams, as defined more precisely in the rules just referred to, are not eligible for support under the OPTICON programme for projects at NOT.

Deadlines

How do I apply for observing time at NOT?

NB: The competition for observing time at the NOT is very keen, and our small OPC cannot contain experts in all fields of astronomy. Therefore, it is CRUCIAL that proposals outline CLEARLY the scientific background and context of the proposed project, and also explain CLEARLY what contribution the planned observations will make to advancing our understanding of the field in question!

As a more practical matter, note that proposals will only be accepted if prepared with the appropriate NOTFORM style macros and submitted to proposal@not.iac.es, a special mail-only account reserved for processing observing proposals. Please specify "Proposal" as the Subject when submitting a proposal, and "Question" in case of any preparatory inquiries.

Available Instrumentation