CFHT Update
For Semester 2010A
This is an update concerning the current status of
instruments
as well as other information regarding submission of proposals.
Semester 2010A Proposals:
The
deadline is 23 September 2009 -
24:00
UTC
If you apply for
MegaCam, WIRCam or ESPaDOnS, insert
this table properly filled in section 13
"Technical Justification" of your proposal.
Please note that, for semester 2010A, the Next Generation Virgo Survey (NGVS) will use nearly 150hrs of MegaCam observing time
at around RA=12:30hr.
On ESPaDOnS, MaPP will use 13h at RA=12h and 48h at RA=20h, while the pressure for MiMeS is in general highest
for RA=16h to RA=24h.
For statistics on the 2009B proposal season, visit this page.
|
|
All proposals from Brazil, Canada, France, and Taiwan
and through Opticon for Semester 2010A must use the electronic
proposal system operated by the Canadian Astronomy Data
Centre. Opticon PIs should check carefully the eligibility of
their proposal on the Opticon
web site.
The Phase One Observing Proposal SYstem
(POOPSY) is an
electronic submission system which uses a standard Web browser but is
based on LaTeX, a familiar formatting language. Consult the Users
Guide for more information.
Please note the instructions on how to properly
acknowledge CFHT in refereed papers.
Some important notes:
- MegaCam is an optical
Wide-Field
instrument. When preparing your proposal, read carefully the notes on MegaCam and Queued
Service Observing (QSO). MegaCam is offered in QSO mode only. QSO snapshot programs, i.e. programs with straightforward
observations for seeing > 1.2", are particularly encouraged. Those
programs are not charged to their respective agency. See the QSO Phase 1 Tutorial
for more
details.
- WIRCam is CFHT's infrared
Wide-Field
camera. When preparing your proposal, read carefully the notes on WIRCam and Queued
Service Observing
(QSO). WIRCam is offered in QSO mode only. QSO
snapshot programs, i.e. programs with straightforward observations for
seeing > 1.2", are particularly encouraged. Those programs are not
charged to their respective agency. See QSO Phase 1 Tutorial
for more
details.
- ESPaDOnS is CFHT's spectropolarimeter,
capable of doing spectroscopy (at a spectral resolution of 68,000 or
80,000) or spectropolarimetry (at a resolution of 68,000). ESPaDOnS is offered in QSO mode only. When
preparing your proposal, read carefully the notes on ESPaDOnS, Queued Service Observing (QSO),
and QSO Phase 1 Tutorial
for more details.
- The KIR upgrade for fast
readout has not been completed and is not planned
anymore.
- GriF is offered with the
Fabry-Perot only. The coronograph mode, long slit
mode, and cross-dispersed FP mode are not
offered.
-
MOS/OSIS and
Gecko are not offered this semester. These instruments are however not dismantled, as they are an
asset of the Corporation. Any comment on this situation can be
addressed to CFHT's Executive Director.
- NEW! CFHT is offering non-sidereal
tracking in QSO mode for all 3 QSO instruments . With this option, targets defined with ephemeris will
get their non-sidereal rates calculated and sent to the Telescope
Control System. Non-sidereal guiding is not offered; only tracking
with non-sidereal rates will be available. If you have questions,
please do not hesitate to contact the QSO Team at qso-=at=-cfht.hawaii.edu .
Instrument Availability:
A few guidelines for the 2010A proposals:
- The MegaCam
web
page provides basic information on the mosaic.
- The filters offered are:
- u*, g', r', i', z' (Sloan set with a better and
wider u)
- the CFH12K filters H alpha ON, H alpha OFF, CN,
TiO, O III. Note that those filters only cover the central 7x2
chips, with some vignetting on the edges of the field on the E and W
edges of the mosaic.
- MegaCam is operated in QUEUED
SERVICE OBSERVING
(QSO) mode ONLY. Please consult the Queue Scheduling pages for
information.
- QSO snapshot programs, i.e.
programs with
straightforward observations for seeing > 1.2", are particularly
encouraged. Those programs are not charged to their respective
agency. See the QSO
Phase 1
Tutorial for more
details.
WIRCam is a wide field near-infrared camera using a
range of narrow
and wide band filters. The instrument uses a mosaic of 4 HAWAII-2RG
detectors to both guide (on-chip guiding) and acquire science images
with a FOV of 21'x21', with gaps of 45''. The pixel scale of 0.3''
slightly undersamples the PSF so a micro-dithering mode is available if
the science project requires high spatial resolution. PIs are asked to
carefully think about their observing strategy (specifically for sky
subtraction) when determining their required integration time.
A few guidelines for the 2010A proposals:
- The WIRCam
web page
provides basic information on the mosaic.
- The filters offered are: Y, J, H, Ks, CH4 (on and
off), LowOH-1,
LowOH-2, H2, Kcontinuum and BrGamma. The limitation to at most one
filter exchange during the semester remains in force. The SAC will
arbitrate filter conflicts between highly ranked proposals, should any
occur.
- WIRCam is operated in QUEUED
SERVICE OBSERVING
(QSO) mode ONLY. Please consult the Queue Scheduling
pages for
information.
- QSO
snapshot programs, i.e.
programs with
straightforward observations for seeing > 1.2", are particularly
encouraged. Those programs are not charged to their respective
agency. See the QSO
Phase 1
Tutorial for more
details.
NEW for 2010A! CFHT now offers a Staring Mode with WIRCam.
This mode is useful for
high accuracy *relative* photometry (better than 1%). Typical science
goals are the study of exoplanet eclipses/transits or stellar variability
of bright targets (~16 or brighter). It consists of full
mosaic science exposures taken over long time sequences at a fixed telescope
position (no dithering). Additionally, the telescope can be defocussed to
spread the light of a bright object over many pixels, thus averaging
individual pixel response errors.
If you would like to use that mode, please clearly state so in your
proposal. If you have have any question about his mode, please
contact Loic Albert (albert -=at=- cfht.hawaii.edu).
NEW for 2010A! Nodding
PIs who plan to use nodding to make sky background measurements should
plan on requesting on average 15s for each telescope slew to or from a
sky position. Starting in 2010A, it is likely that PIs will be charged
for such slews to sky positions, which ever way they are entered in
PH2.
ESPaDOnS is a high-resolution échelle
spectrograph/spectropolarimeter fiber-fed from a Cassegrain module
including calibration and guiding facilities, as well as an optional
polarization analyzer. This instrument offers a complete optical
spectrum (from 370 to 1,050 nm) in a single exposure with a resolving
power of about 68,000 (by using a slicer in a 3-slice configuration, in
spectropolarimetric and 'object+sky' spectroscopic mode) and up to
80,000 (by using the slicer in a 6-slice configuration, in 'object
only'
spectroscopic mode). This instrument uses CFHT's EEV1 detector
(previously used on Gecko).
Observers can use the following modes:
- a spectropolarimetric mode in which the two
orthogonal states of a given polarization - either circular (Stokes V)
or linear (Stokes Q or
U) - are recorded simultaneously (side by side) throughout the whole
spectral range at an average spectral resolution of about 68,000
- an object+sky spectroscopic mode in which the spectra
of the star
and of the background sky are recorded simultaneously (side by side) on
the CCD detector with an average spectral resolution of about 68,000
- a object only spectroscopic mode in which only the
spectrum from the (bright) star is recorded, at a spectral resolution
of 81,000
ESPaDOnS is offered in QSO mode only!
The instrument and its characteristics are
described on the CFHT
ESPaDOnS
webpage. For a general introduction to ESPaDOnS in QSO mode, please
consult this
page. A detailed QSO
tutorial for ESPaDOnS is also available; reading
the QSO tutorial is mandatory before submitting a proposal. Note
that the time requested is now in hours and not in days.
Important note for 2010A! Cross-talk
Polarimetrists should be aware that the cross-talk has increased
from 2.1% (Dec 2008) to 4.4% (May 2009), and that it is variable on
timescales of hours (measurements taken on the same night may
exhibit different levels of cross-talk). Questions and concerns
should be send to the qsoteam (qsoteam -=at=- cfht.hawaii.edu).
If you have any question regarding
ESPaDOnS in QSO
mode, please do not hesitate to contact Nadine Manset (manset -=at=-
cfht.hawaii.edu).
PUEO is the CFHT Adaptive Optics Bonnette. For observations in
infra-red, KIR is the detector to be used. Detailed information
on
performance and results are available on the KIR
and the PUEO Web pages
FOCAM is no longer offered.
GriF is offered with the Fabry-Perot only.
Please check the PUEO
web page
for the latest news on the GrIF implementation.
CCDs
- EEV1 (ESPaDOns). 2k x 4.5k thin CCD, 13.5
micron
pixels. Gain: 1.8 e-/ADU. Noise: 3.143 e-. Fringing in the red,
starting
at about 6000Å.
IR Detectors
- The KIR camera which incorporates a 1024 x
1024 Rockwell NICMOS
chip with 18.5 micron pixels is available for use with AOB
Consult the CFHT Detectors page
for more information on the detectors which are currently available.
|