ESO announces the forthcoming deployment of its new tool for the preparation and submission of observing proposals. This represents the first part of a broader overhaul of the ESO Phase 1 system (p1) that, in the near future, will also entail a significant modernisation of the Observing Programmes Committee refereeing process and related tools. ESO will start to offer the new p1 system during Period 103 for the submission of DDT proposals. A demo version where users can experiment with the new system will soon be available. Further announcements will be made via the usual ESO communication channels.
The New ESO Phase 1 System
Published: 27 Feb 2019
The new p1 system is web-based, resembling the recent p2 tool. This system includes a number of new features, including: allowing the Principal Investigator and Co-Investigators (CoIs) to edit proposals in a collaborative way online; graphically plotting target visibilities and the probability of realising the requested observing conditions; retrieving target information directly from Simbad or uploading them from a CSV file; and updating a submitted proposal (before the deadline). There are also some practical implications: each of the CoIs will need to have an ESO User Portal account, and it will no longer be possible to directly resubmit existing LaTeX proposals into the new system. Finally, the ESOFORM package — which has served the community for decades — will be retired.