October 2022 Call for Proposals

Gemini North and South are accepting proposals for the Fast Turnaround (FT) program. Here, we give information specific to this proposal cycle. Please see the other FT pages - particularly the rules - for general information about the program. FT (dual anonymous)-specific proposal templates must now be used for all FT proposals. See the "PIT information" section below. The 2022B PIT must be used.

Important dates

• Proposal deadline: 12:00pm (NOON), Hawaiian Standard Time (HST), October 31.

• Please ensure the latest version of the PIT is used for submission (see the PIT information below).
• Reviews must be completed by 23:59 HST, November 14. If you have submitted a proposal, but by the 2nd of the month have not received an email from FT regarding reviewing proposals, contact FT as soon as possible.
• Results will be announced by November 21, 2022.
• The deadline for preparing observations (Phase II) is November 30. Accepted programs meeting this deadline will be active from 1 December 2022 until 28 February 2023.
• FT observations will be merged with the queue and observed on queue nights.

Dual Anonymous Review Process (DARP)

• Since Feb 2021, we have been using a dual anonymous review process. New proposal templates for FT have been updated. DARP compliance is mandatory. Proposals using the wrong template will be removed from consideration.  Proposals that do not follow all the DARP guidelines will either be removed from consideration or sent to the directorate for review.  
• Guideline for PIs
  • Enter information of the proposing team with the Phase I Tool (PIT) as usual.
  • Use the FT specific template.
  • The proposal template has been updated to be compliant with DARP starting on Feb 1, 2021
  • Avoid mentioning names and affiliations of the team in the PDF attachment that could be used to identify the proposing team.
  • Avoid claiming ownership of past work. (E.g., “my successful Gemini program in the previous semester (GS-18A-xxx)”, or “our analysis shown in Doe et al. 2020…”)
  • Including text in proposals discussing previous use of Gemini is ok, as long as that work is not referenced and program IDs are not listed.
  • Cite references in passive third person, e.g., “Analysis shown in Doe et al. 2020”, including references to data and software.
  • Do describe the proposed work, e.g., “We propose to do the following…”, or “We will measure the effects of …”
  • Unpublished work can be referred to as “obtained in private communication” or “from private consultation”.
• Guideline for Reviewers
  • Accept the assigned proposals based on abstracts whether you can provide an unbiased review or not.
  • Review proposals solely based on the scientific merit of what is proposed.
  • Do not spend any time attempting to identify the PI or the team. Even if you think you know, you can be wrong.
  • Utilize neutral pronouns (they/the PI/the team) when you write comments.
  • Flag the proposals that have not been sufficiently anonymized but DO NOT penalize them by lowering grades. (The FT support team will check the flagged proposals and send any violations to the Gemini Directorate for review.)  
• More detailed guidelines can be found on the FT webpage. 

Eligibility

• PIs from all participant countries (except Chile) taking part in the FT program may apply for this cycle.
• Chile has withdrawn from Fast Turnaround since 2021A.
• Japanese community PIs may not submit proposals for this cycle.  In agreement with Subaru Observatory, starting with the September 2021 CfP, Japanese community proposers may only apply for up to 4hrs of time on a single proposal (and no more than 4hrs total will be awarded to Japanese community PIs) and only on odd numbered cycles. Japanese proposals will only be accepted in Call for Proposals for months: Jan/Mar/May/July/Sep/Nov.  
• PIs from participant countries whose FT time for the semester has been used up should not apply for the remainder of the semester. Note that some participant countries only have very small amounts of FT time available each semester. No partners have reached their limit for 22B. However, these partners have little remaining time: BR 4.24h, KR 5.84h , AR 3.2h.  See Rule #4 and Q&A for more information.

Acceptable RA ranges

• Gemini North: Targets from about RA = 22.5 hr to 16 hr are acceptable during this cycle. Note, however, that RAs near 22.5h will only be accessible for a couple hours during the first half of the first month (December) and only at northern declinations (Dec> 0) . Likewise, RAs near 16h will only be accessible for a couple hours during the final month (February) and again only in the above declination range. Note Rule #9; an FT program may not fully backload its three-month active period; at least one of its targets must be observable during its first active month.
• Gemini South: Targets from about RA = 00  hr to 16 hr are acceptable during this cycle. Note that RAs near 0h will only be accessible for a couple hours during the first half of the first month (December) and only at favorable declinations (Dec< 0) . Likewise, RAs near 16h will only be accessible for a couple hours during the final month (February) and again only in the above declination range. Note Rule #9; an FT program may not fully backload its three-month active period; at least one of its targets must be observable during its first active month.

Available instruments and observing modes

Gemini North

• All instruments are available at some point during the December - January period, but make sure to check the schedule for the specific dates.
• We expect GMOS-N and GNIRS to be offered in February (the 23A schedule is not yet available).   
• Please contact the FT team in advance with any specific questions (Fast.Turnaround at gemini.edu).
• Make sure to check the 22B  instrument schedule for the specific availability of each instrument. The 23A instrument schedule (for Feb) is not available yet. Please check back here for the 23A schedule. 

Gemini South

• GMOS and F2 are offered this cycle.  
• F2 MOS is offered in this cycle. Please read about its capabilities carefully. Since pre-images will be needed for most programs, F2-MOS targets are further restricted between RA=4 hr and 12 hr in this cycle. A maximum of 8 masks will be installed in the instrument. 
• We are offering IGRINS and Zorro but please contact the FT team in advance with any specific questions (Fast.Turnaround at gemini.edu).  
• Make sure to check the 22B instrument schedule for specific availability of each instrument.  The 23A instrument schedule (for Feb) is not available yet. Please check back here for the 23A schedule. 
• GeMS/GSAOI are not offered via FT.

Both telescopes

• FT observations may not be executed during classical observing, or priority visitor (PV), depending on the prevailing conditions.
• For visiting instruments not listed above, please contact the FT team to check availability (Fast.Turnaround at gemini.edu).
• The R600 grating in each GMOS instrument is NOT offered for FT (or regular queue) observations.
• MOS observations are available for FT, subject to some caveats/restrictions.
• As discussed in the rules and Q&A, please contact the Fast Turnaround team in advance of the deadline if you would like to propose for an unusual instrument configuration or observing mode.

Time available

• Up to 18 (15) hrs per cycle at GN (GS) is available for FT observations. Very roughly, this implies:
  • 3.6 (3.0) hrs of 20%-ile conditions (IQ=20, for example; see this web page)
  • 9 (7.5) hrs of 50%-ile conditions
  • 12.6 (10.5) hrs of 70%-ile conditions
  • 15.3 (12.75) hrs of 85%-ile conditions
• PIs may propose for up to the amount of time in their most restrictive observing conditions, subject to partner's time availability - see rule #4. For example, a proposal requesting CC50 IQ20 SB50 WVany conditions can request no more than 3.6 hrs of observing time at a single telescope.

PIT information

• Proposals must be submitted using the version of the Phase I Tool specified on this web page. 
• In the Time Requests tab, select "Fast Turnaround Observing at Gemini" as the proposal class and specify the reviewer (and mentor, if appropriate). Note that this is where the reviewer is defined; changes cannot be made after the proposal has been submitted.
• For the pdf attachment to the proposal, the dedicated LaTeX/Word template specifically for FT proposals must be used: tex | sty | doc. This is compulsory for all FT proposals.
• Submitting the same proposal more than once during a given month (e.g. after correcting/editing a submitted version) should be avoided if at all possible. Only submit when you are sure your proposal is ready to be reviewed.