Call for Proposals for Period 108

Published: 25 Feb 2021
Call for Proposals

The Call for Proposals for observations at ESO telescopes in Period 108 (1 October 2021 – 31 March 2022) has been released. Please consult the Period 108 document for the main news items and policies related to applying for time on ESO telescopes. All technical information about the offered instruments and facilities is contained on ESO webpages that are linked from the Call. The proposal submission deadline is 12:00 CET 25 March 2021.

Here we summarise some of the important changes for Period 108:

  • The Dual-Anonymous Peer Review (DAPR, see accompanying announcement) is now fully deployed, after the successful dry run in Period 106. Applicants must formulate the scientific rationales of their proposals following the anonymisation rules and examples described in this link, which also gives a detailed description of the DAPR paradigm.
  • The upgraded CRIRES instrument is offered with the spectroscopy mode covering the wavelength range 0.95–5.3μm, with spectral resolving powers of 50,000 and 100,000, and in noAO and NGS modes. Additional observing modes continue to be commissioned.
  • Period 108 is expected to be the last Period of VIRCAM operations before the start of the modifications required at VISTA for the installation of 4MOST. Only Normal Programme proposals are accepted in Period 108 for this instrument, without restrictions on atmospheric conditions, lunar phase or RA range.
  • Period 108 is the last Period for which the operation of VST is guaranteed under the current agreement between ESO and INAF. Normal and Large Programme proposals are accepted for OmegaCAM in Period 108 without restrictions on atmospheric conditions, lunar phase or RA range, with the understanding that Large Programmes can only run for a maximum of one Period.
  • Due to the preparations to offer SOXS at the NTT in the near future, Large Programme proposals will be accepted for SOFI during Period 108 only and for EFOSC2 only for Periods 108 through 110. Users should be aware, however, that these programmes may be terminated ahead of the expected time, depending on progress in the activities with SOXS. This will be reviewed again for Period 110.
  • The visitor focus of the 3.6-metre telescope is not offered during Period 108 due to the installation and commissioning of NIRPS. However, APEX and The Nasmyth A focus of UT1 are available for a Visitor Instrument. Further, two visitor foci for an interferometric instrument are available in the VLTI laboratory. Interested users should consult Section 3 of the Call for Proposals document.