CALL FOR PROPOSALS FOR GEMINI OBSERVATORY 2024 LARGE AND LONG PROGRAM TIME

Important Dates

December 13, 2023 LLP Proposal Cycle Announcement of Opportunity
February 12, 9am HST, 2024 - Letters of Intent Due. UPDATE: with the added availability of MAROON-X (for 5 semesters) at Gemini North, the deadline for LoI has been extended to February 20, 9am HST.
March 1, 2024 - 2024B regular semester Call for Proposals released
April 1, 2024 - 2024 LLP Proposals deadline
Late-April, 2024 - Large Program Time Allocation Committee meets
Mid-June, 2024 - 2024B telescope schedule and LLP proposal cycle announcements

This page contains information specific to the 2024 Large and Long Program proposal cycle. General information on the LLP proposal process, including proposal format and requirements, can be found on the LLP Proposal Process webpage.

Time Available for New Gemini LLPs

The estimated time available for new Gemini LLPs is provided in the table below. The numbers in the Table are estimates only, the exact time available will depend on instrument commissioning, engineering, campaign science, limited-term partnerships, etc. as well as the status of ongoing LLP programs.

**Estimated Time Available for new LLPs in Hours**
Site	Band	2024B	2025A	2025B	2026A	2026B	2027A
North	1	60	60	60	60	100	100
	2	100	85	95	65	100	100
South	1	85	85	85	85	100	100
	2	35	60	60	80	100	100

Target and Observing Constraint Restrictions

An individual LLP need not request a balanced program across North/South, RA range, observing conditions, etc. However, the ensemble of approved LLPs must not overly impinge on other observing programs. Therefore, the ensemble of approved LPs should not exceed ~25% of any relevant parameter, such as hemisphere, RA range, and observing condition bins. See this page for further information on observing condition constraints.

LLPs will also be subject to general semester target availability restrictions, as published in the general call for proposals for each semester.

Instrument Availability

The instruments available for new LLPs are listed below, along with any particular restrictions of note. Successful LLPs may also be limited by the semester-specific instrument availability restrictions announced with each semesters regular Call for Proposals.

Gemini North

GMOS-N: Expected to be available 2024B-2027A. All modes offered. See special note on GMOS MOS proposals below.
GNIRS: Expected to be available 2024B-2027A. All modes offered including the IFU modes.
Altair: Expected to be available 2024B-2027A. Offered for Natural Guide Star (NGS) guiding only.
Alopeke: Expected to be available 2024B-2027A.
MAROON-X: Expected to be available 2024B-2026B, i.e. FIVE semesters only. ** UPDATED FEBRUARY 12, 2024.

Gemini South

GMOS-S: Expected to be available 2024B-2027A. All modes offered. See special note on GMOS MOS proposals below.
FLAMINGOS-2: Expected to be available 2024B-2027A. All modes offered.
GSAOI/GEMS: Expected to be available 2024B-2027A however GSAOI will be block scheduled based on TAC approved demand each semester, with between one and three runs (each up to two weeks long) during a semester.
GHOST: Expected to be available 2024B-2027A. All configurations for both standard and high resolution modes are offered.
Zorro: Expected to be available 2024B-2027A.

Special Note for programs proposing to utilize GMOS MOS mode at Gemini North or South

The GMOS instruments can hold 9 masks at any given time. These masks include those required by regular programs, which may need to be installed for lengthy periods if monitoring is required or if the observation time is large. For these reasons new LLP programs should limit the number of masks needed to around 20 masks per site per semester. The number of masks in a given 3-hour RA range must be less than this - around 5 per semester per site.

Subaru Intensive Programs

PIs from LLP participating partners (currently the US and CA) are invited to submit proposals for Subaru Intensive programs (SIP) to Gemini through the Gemini-Subaru time exchange program. Subaru Intensive programs applications follow the same rules and eligibility used for the Gemini Large and Long Programs (LLPs). The request of Subaru Intensive program must be clearly stated in the title of the proposal. The required Subaru instrument configurations should be specified in the Abstract. At most, one proposal will be selected. It is very important that prospective SIP PIs check the Subaru 24B Call for Proposals (issued in early February) before submitting their full proposal.

2024 LLP Call for Proposals