Observing Time Applications

Observing time on the IRTF is scheduled in 2 semesters per year. Applications for the 1 February - 31 July semester are due the previous 1 October, while those for the 1 August - 31 January semester are due 1 April. The availability of observing time is announced twice per year, 1 month in advance of each of these due dates. The telescope schedule is published and successful proposals are announced at least 1 month prior to the start of each semester.

View the official Announcement for Applications of Observing Time.

Review the IRTF Facility and Visitor Instruments Available.

The IRTF accepts electronic submission of observing proposals, or mailed paper copies. All submitted proposals must use the proposal form (designated as 'rev. Aug. 2007' at the very top of the first page) or they will be automatically rejected by the TAC.

There are three methods by which you can download the Observing Time Application form to your home machine:

1. The LaTex-format proposal file (app_LaTex.tex), an associated style file (epsf.sty), and a set of instructions (app_LaTex.txt) are packed in a compressed tar file app_LaTex.tgz which you can download directly to your machine. After downloading the tar file, unpack it with the following command:

gunzip -c app_LaTex.tgz | tar -xvf -

2. Alternatively, the three files packed in the tar file can be downloaded individually by clicking on the links below and then choosing the 'Save as...' option under the 'File' menu on your Web browser. (The LaTex file should automatically download to a directory on your home machine.)

3. For those proposers who prefer not to use LaTex, the application form is also available in MS Word format.

After downloading the files, you can then edit the application file itself (app_LaTex). It should be noted that the file app_LaTex.tex (rev. Aug. 2007) is in standard LaTex format.

You may submit your proposals in either PDF or post script format. The proposal can then be submitted to the IRTF by anonymous FTP transfer to the IRTF with the following commands:

      ftp jeans.ifa.hawaii.edu
      cd Proposal
      bin
      put myproposal.ps PIname.pdf (or .ps)
      bye

Log in to the FTP site as anonymous and give your e-mail ID as the password. The put line above will rename your file from myproposal.pdf (or .ps) to PIname.pdf (or .ps) on the anonymous FTP site. We strongly request that each proposal be given the name PIname.pdf (or .ps), where PIname is the last name and initials of the PI. (Multiple proposals from the same PI should have sequential numbers added to the name; e.g., VaccaWD_1.pdf (or .ps), VaccaWD_2.pdf (or .ps), etc.

If you encounter problems and are unable to submit your proposal via the above method, please rename the file as PIname.pdf (or .ps) and submit it via email to proposal@irtf.ifa.hawaii.edu.

Note that the IRTF will only accept postscript and PDF formats for electronic submission via FTP. If you encounter problems, please contact us at (808) 956-6795.