Call for Proposals for the
NASA Infrared Telescope Facility

DEADLINE: Tuesday 01 April 2014

NASA Infrared Telescope Facility Observing Proposals. The due date for the 2014B semester (August 1, 2014 to January 31, 2015) is Tuesday, April 1, 2014. See our online submission form, which is available for proposal submission from from 12:00AM on March 01, 2014 until 5:00PM on April 01, 2014 HST. Available instruments include: (1) SpeX, a 0.8 - 5.3 micron cross-dispersed medium-resolution spectrograph (up to R=2,500) and imager; (2) MORIS, a 512x512 pixel Andor CCD camera mounted at the side-facing, dichroic-fed window of the SpeX cryostat (60"x60" field-of-view); MORIS can be used simultaneously with SpeX; (3) CSHELL, a 1-5 micron high-resolution spectrograph (up to R=40,000) (4) PI-instruments including a low-resolution 3-14 micron spectrograph and high-resolution spectrographs for 8-25 microns. Information on available instruments and performance can be found at: 2019http://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu/Facility.

Important notice: We anticipate that SpeX will be returned to the telescope in June 2014 in time to accommodate proposals for the Fall 2014 semester beginning on August 1, 2014. Currently SpeX is in the Hilo laboratory undergoing upgrades to its array and array controllers. We expect improved performance but for proposals please use current performance and sensitivity.

Please be advised that NSFCAM2 is not available as it is undergoing evaluation for repair after damage resulting from overpressure in its liquid nitrogen can.

Visitor instruments (available on a collaborative basis with the instrument team) include: TEXES (5-20 micron high-resolution spectrograph; contact Matt Richter at richter@physics.ucdavis.edu for more information), BASS (3-14 micron spectrometer; contact Ray Russell at ray.w.russell@aero.org), CELESTE (5-25 micron echelle spectrometer; contact Don Jennings at donald.e.jennings@nasa.gov), and HIPWAC (9-12 micron heterodyne spectrometer; contact Ted Kostiuk at theodor.kostiuk-1@nasa.gov).

Remote observing is available with SpeX, CSHELL, and MORIS.

Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring will make a very close approach to Mars in 2014B and observations of this comet are of interest to NASA. Further information can be found here:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/12111886/Comet_Siding_Spring.pdf

Important notice: Remote observing requests must be made in the proposal application -- later requests will be considered if requested at least ONE MONTH ahead of time. If you wish to observe from your home institution, you MUST comply with the requirements for video conferencing and instrument operation provided on the Remote Observers Information page. First-time users should plan to work in Manoa, Hilo or at the summit for their first run with their support astronomer and become familiar with the instrument operation. Observers already familiar with the instrument and who want to observe remotely from their home institution are strongly encouraged to contact Miranda Hawarden-Ogata (hawarden@ifa.hawaii.edu) to set up a test of the video link and user interface at least one month prior to their observing run. We cannot guarantee a successful remote observing connection on short notice since we have no control of hardware and software compatibility on the user’s side. It is the responsibility of the PI to provide up to date observing contact information.

To keep our bibliography up to date, and to ensure future funding of the IRTF instruments, we ask that you send us citations for your latest IRTF publications. You can check your publications using our website bibliography page for refereed papers:

http://irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu/research/biblio/publications.php

Please send to William Walters (walters@ifa.hawaii.edu) any missing references, and please continue to include in your paper the acknowledgement to the IRTF and the name of the instrument used.