This section describes important changes which took place during Period 95 and 96, as well as changes expected to take place during Period 97.

ESOFORM:

• Seeing and Image Quality:  Starting from Period 96, the  seeing information  to provide in Box  3 of a  proposal is the seeing in the V band  at zenith.  This change now ensures that the scheduling tool uniformly takes the seeing into account. Service mode users for approved programmes will enter the Image  Quality for the airmass and  wavelength of interest required for their observations as constraint during Phase 2. The Messenger article `On the Difference between Seeing and Image Quality: When the Turbulence Outer Scale Enters the Game' by P. Martinez et al. describes the meaning of these two quantities.
           
  Accordingly, the Exposure Time Calculators have been modified and clearly distinguish between the two quantities, using a slightly modified version of the formula given in the above article.

Exposure Time Calculators:

• Exposure Time Calculators: in addition to the change mentioned in the previous point, a number of ETCs are now using a new sky model developed as part of the Austrian in-kind contribution (see Noll et al. 2012, A\&A 543, 92, Jones et al. 2013, A\&A 560, 91,  and The Cerro Paranal Advanced Sky Model). 
  

Instruments

• HARPS:
  
  • A commissioning of the Laser Frequency Comb took place during April 2015. Additional commissioning activities will take place during Period 96 to make the system ready for operations. Interested users are invited to consult the HARPS News page before the start of their run.
  • The upgrade of the optical fibers successfully took place in May and early June 2015. See the HARPS News page. A detailed report will be published in the Messenger. In particular:
    
    • radial velocity systematics due to slight de-centering and de-focussing have been eliminated;
      
    • the broken sky fiber of EGGS has been repaired;
    • HARPS has gained in throughput by at least 10%;
      
    • however, a constant offset is expected to be introduced in the radial velocity measurements taken after the fiber exchange (May 28th). Although the instrument and its pipeline are fully operational, the data-reduction is being optimized, in particular, to determine this offset as accurately as possible with the goal to assure best precision and long-term continuity to all programmes, especially to the ones spanning pre- and post-upgrade observing time.
      

Large Programmes

• Large Programmes are not offered on the NTT in Period 96.
• Large Programmes on the 3.6-m telescope may span up to Period 100. See the Call for Proposals for Period 97 for details.