Queue Summary : Semester 2002A Gemini North and South

The queues shown in the tables below summarise the programs that have been awarded time on Gemini North and South. As a reminder, all capabilities are made available on a shared-risks basis. Jump directly to the queue for:

• Gemini North
• Gemini South

The queue is constructed by the International TAC from the ranked list of proposals of each National TAC using the merging sequence and is divided into four scientific ranking bands (SRBs). Several proposals have multiple occurrences as they were sub-divided by the relevant NTAC. Within each band, all proposals are assumed to have equal scientific merit and have been sorted by PI name for convenience. The choice of which observation within which program to execute next depends on the match to current observing conditions, the balance of each partner's usage and other factors such as future accessibility, whether a program has been started etc. (see a detailed discussion in Puxley 1997; Gemini Preprint #19). The aim is to exhaust band 1 (highest ranked) programs before moving onto band 2 and so on. An observation in band 1 that does not require the best conditions will nevertheless be executed in preference to a band 2 observation even if the latter is a better match. Thus the likelihood of execution decreases from band 1 through to band 4. Bands 1 through 3 aim to fill the nominal time available (excluding weather loss). Programs in band 4 overfill the queue and provide further flexibility with respect to weather conditions and foreseen or unforeseen problems.

Each program has been assigned a Gemini Contact Scientist (CS) who is the point of contact between the Observatory and the Principal Investigator (PI) after the detailed observations are defined by the PI in Phase II. (Prior to submission of Phase II programs, each National Office provides the first point of contact). The Contact Scientist is responsible for overseeing data quality. During this (shared-risks) phase of early science use the observing and data processing are largely manual activities and therefore the SRBs are also used to prioritise program preparation and user support. 

In routine operation the intent is to update this page nightly. During shared-risks science use, this queue status page may only be updated after each observing block with a given instrument. 

Note that individual SRBs will not be in detailed balance with respect to partner shares. Aggregating over two or more bands generally provides an equitable distribution of queue loading (in hours, not in the number of proposals). Additional flexibility is available when executing observations to balance the partner usage of time. The intent is to achieve balance over 2 or 3 semesters, not a single semester.

The columns in the table for Gemini North are:
Ref #: Gemini reference number (note that this is different from any internal National TAC reference number). Click on it to see the proposal abstract (when available).
PI: name of Principal Investigator.
Partner: partner or country to which time will be charged (US, UK, CA=Canada, AU=Australia, AR=Argentina, BR=Brazil, UH=University of Hawaii (host), GS=Gemini staff).
Title: the title of the program.
Instrument: name of the instrument
Hours: time allocated to the program (if a joint or duplicate proposal, this is is the time allocated to this part of the program only)
Status: the execution status of the program: blank field = not yet in preparation, "in prep" = Phase II preparation of detailed observation descriptions done; "started" = executed one or more observations; "continued" = additional data taken for a started program; "completed" = all requested data taken; "data in QA" = data undergoing pre-ship quality assessment; "data sent" = data for one or more observations and calibrations sent to PI; "done" = program complete. Recent changes are highlighted in bold font.
Update: the date when the status information was last updated.

The columns in the table for Gemini South are:
Ref #: Gemini reference number (note that this is different from any internal National TAC reference number). Click on it to see the proposal abstract (when available).
PI: name of Principal Investigator.
Partner: partner or country to which time will be charged (US, UK, CA=Canada, AU=Australia, CH=Chile (host), AR=Argentina, BR=Brazil, GS=Gemini staff).
Title: the title of the program.
Instrument: name of the instrument
Hours: time allocated to the program (if a joint or duplicate proposal, this is is the time allocated to this part of the program only)
Status: the execution status of the program: blank field = not yet in preparation, "in prep" = Phase II preparation of detailed observation descriptions done; "started" = executed one or more observations; "continued" = additional data taken for a started program; "completed" = all requested data taken; "data in QA" = data undergoing pre-ship quality assessment; "data sent" = data for one or more observations and calibrations sent to PI; "done" = program complete. Recent changes are highlighted in bold font.
Update: the date when the status information was last updated.

Last update September 12, 2002; Phil Puxley