Making an Observing Proposal

Large observatories have more users than telescopes (alas). In order to prevent fistfights from breaking out inside the domes, observatories create Time Allocation Committees (TACs) to divvy up telescope time to the various astronomers. The TACs base their decisions on observing proposals, which describe

• a target (or associated list of targets)
• the equipment needed
• the time required to acquire the necessary data
• constraints on lunar phase
• the scientific justification

You can find examples of some observing proposals on-line:

• Kitt Peak National Observatory
• The SARA Telescope at Kitt Peak
• McDonald Observatory
• Lick Observatory
• Dominion Astrophysical Obsevatory

You must create an observing proposal for this class and submit it by Thursday, Apr 18. The TAC will meet on Friday, Apr 19, and allocate times and dates for each proposal.

The pieces of an observing proposal

Your proposal must answer the following questions:

Who? Personnel

Who are you? What is your experience?

What and Where? Target(s)

What will you look at? What sort of thing is it? How bright is it? Make a table showing the position and magnitude of each target. Include a finding chart for each object, with the target clearly indicated.

How? Equipment

What telescope will you use? Which camera? Will you use filters? If so, which ones? What exposure times are required?

When? Times and Dates

When is the target visible? What are the earliest and lates dates within the period under consideration which satisfy your needs? Are there particular dates on which special events occur? Which moon phases are acceptable, and what constraints does that place on the dates and times?

Why? Scientific Justification

What's the point? What do you plan to learn from these observations? Explain how the images you will acquire supply the information you want to know. You should include references to other work on this or similar objects -- be sure to do literature searches with

• SIMBAD

  http://simbad.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/WSimbad.pl

• The ADS Abstract Service:

  http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

You should describe the type of reductions you will perform on the images: astrometry, photometry, or something else. You should also explain any additional analysis; for example, if you are looking for variability, you should explain how you will use the light curve to determine the period and amplitude of variation.

You must be able to show that the time and equipment requested will yield images that can answer your scientific questions.

When you are ready, you can fill out the observing proposal form.

Last modified 4/12/2002 by MWR.

Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.