Call for Lick Small Telescope Proposals

November 28, 2011

To: Observers on the Lick Observatory Small Telescopes

From: Michael Bolte, UCO Director

Re: First Quarter 2012 Small Telescope Observing Requests

This Call is for Requests for Observing Time on the Small Telescopes (40-inch Nickel, CAT, and 36-inch refractor) for First Quarter 2012 beginning February 1, 2012, and running through April 30, 2012. The application process begins now and will end promptly at 5:00 P.M. on Monday, January 2, 2012.

The on-line proposal system is described at
https://spg.ucolick.org/cgi-bin/LickTAC/login.cgi

You will find the on-line Cover Sheets at
http://www.ucolick.org/lickobs/reqform.html

During First Quarter 2012 the dewar 4 CCD will be the only detector available for use with the CAT.

The Nickel 1-meter (40-inch) telescope and Direct Imaging Camera (CCD-C2) are  equipped for remote operation and are available for such use. Only observers with experience observing locally with the Nickel telescope and Direct Camera are eligible to observe remotely. For new observers planning to use the remote observing capability in the future, an additional checkout must be completed on site, using the local host zola to simulate remote operation. A second checkout on the first night of actual remote observing, conducted via video-conferencing, is also required.

Remote observing must be done from one of the mainland approved sites. Proposals for remote observing must specify the facility from which the observer will be working and include a list of up to four filters and the order in which they are to be installed. In all other ways, the remote proposal process is the same as for local observing.

If you plan to submit a remote observing proposal, please consult the webpages for Remote Observing Policy and for Remote Operation of the Nickel 1-m Telescope and Direct Imaging Camera before preparing your proposal.

Please make a realistic estimate of the number of nights you will need for your program. Include enough information in your requests so that we fully understand the scientific aims of your proposed program and, specifically, what observations you plan to make.

The CAT can only be scheduled during those times in which the coudé spectrograph is not being used with the 3-meter telescope.