This page provides observers with information necessary to prepare proposals (deadline, submission process, information about the instruments), prepare an observing run (forms to complete, documents to read), and observe at CFHT (telescope schedule, high altitude information, weather resources, various tools).

Here is a quick access to frequently used links:

Observing
Schedule		 Time Allocation
Statistics		 Proposals MegaPrime /
MegaCam		 WIRCam
Queue
Scheduling		 ESPaDOnS Weather SkyProbe Elixir

Preparation of proposals


CFHT is open for proposals twice a year. The deadlines are usually around March 21st and September 21st. All proposals from Canada and France must use the electronic proposal system operated by the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre. It all started with Semester 2010B... CFHT adapted the Northstar Phase 1 tool written initially for the Radionet community. Northstar has been ported to CFHT and modified in house to handle our specific requirements. When a semester is open for proposals, an announcement is made on the CFHT Front Page and the information is also available on the web.

Please note the instructions on how to properly acknowledge CFHT in refereed papers.

CFHT's instruments


CFHT offers various imagers and spectrographs:

  • Imaging instruments
    • The following imaging instruments are available at CFHT:
      • WIRCam - The new Wide-Field IR camera, with four 2048 x 2048 pixel HAWAII2-RG detectors, a 20 arcminute x 20 arcminute field-of-view and a sampling of 0.3 arcsecond per pixel
      • MegaPrime / MegaCam - The CFHT 36 CCD mosaic 1 square degree CCD imager
      • KIR - The AOB/PUEO 1k x 1k infrared detector
    • The following instruments are no longer offered at CFHT:
      • FOCAM - The Cassegrain or AOB/PUEO imaging camera.
      • CFH12K - The CFHT 12k x 8k pixel, CCD mosaic camera.
      • CFHT-IR - The f/8 1k x 1k infrared detector
      • MOS - The Multi-Object Spectrograph, can also be used for imaging
      • OSIS - The Optionally Stabilized Imager and Spectrometer at Cassegrain f/8
  • Spectrographs
    • The following spectrographs are available at CFHT:
      • ESPaDOnS - The new échelle spectrograph/spectropolarimeter
      • GriF - A multi-mode infrared integral field spectrograph for use with AOB/PUEO
    • The following spectrographs have been decommissioned or are no longer offered:
      • OASIS - An integral field spectrograph for use with AOB/PUEO
      • FTS - The Fourier Transform Spectrograph at f/35
      • MOS - The f/8 Multi Object Spectrograph
      • OSIS - Optionally Stabilized Imager and Spectrometer at Cassegrain f/8
      • Gecko - Coude f/4 Spectrograph
      • Fabry-Perot - For use with MOS, OSIS, and AOB/PUEO
  • Detectors
    • Optical: CCD Mosaic
    • Optical: single CCD
      • EEV1- 2048 × 4500 - backside illuminated - ESPaDOnS only
    • Infrared: IRFPA array
    • Infrared: single IRFPA
      • KIR - 10242 HgCdTe
    • Detectors no longer offered
      • Redeye - 2562 NICMOS
      • Loral3 - 2048 × 2048   - frontside illuminated
      • CFH12K - 12,288 × 8,192  - backside illuminated
      • EEV2- 2048 × 4500 - backside illuminated - Gecko only
      • MIT1 - MIT chip similar to those found in CFH12K - very good red response, very low fringing - for MOS
      • MIT2 - MIT chip similar to those found in CFH12K - very good red response, very low fringing, but a lot of bad columns - for Gecko only
      • CFHT-IR - 10242 HgCdTe
  • Related information

Preparation of observing runs


The visiting astronomer should read the Welcome to the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope! document for general information on traveling to Hawaii, the observing run and staying at Hale Pohaku (the 'base camp' of the telescope). The CFHT Observatory Manual contains some additional information on the telescope.. The CFHT Observing Assistant's page provides some links to IR images of the islands and to other observatory and astronomy sites.

Observers are required to fill in forms before and after their run:

Please note the instructions on how to properly acknowledge CFHT in refereed papers


Observing at CFHT




Tools



CFHT data archive at CADC

Observations obtained with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope from February 1990 to the present are archived at the CADC. The CFHT archive at CADC allows searches by observation meta-data, such as object name and run ID, and presents the results of the search in a tabular format. Users can request and receive archival data and, for some imaging data, previews of CFHT data.