2025A Call for Proposals | Gemini Observatory

Gemini Observatory invites its community to propose scientific investigations for the 2025A semester, 1 February 2025 - 31 July 2025.

The table below shows submission deadlines for all Gemini Participants, and the Subaru community under the Gemini/Subaru time exchange. Multi-participant joint proposals should be submitted by the deadline of the participant country to which the Principal Investigator is affiliated. For more on the Gemini proposal submission and time allocation process, please consult the Phase I page.

Participant	Submission Deadline
United States	September 30, 2024 at 23:59 (Mountain Standard Time)
Canada	October 01, 2024 at 16:00 (Pacific Daylight Time)
Brazil	October 03, 2024 at 23:59 (Brazilian Time)
Argentina	October 01, 2024 at 17:00 (Argentina Time)
Korea	October 01, 2024 at 23:59 (Korea Standard Time)
Chile	September 30, 2024 at 23:59 (Chile Standard Time)
Univ. of Hawaii	October 01, 2024 at 10:00 (Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time)
Subaru Community	September 30, 2024 at 23:59 (Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time) = October 01, 2024 at 18:59 (Japan Standard Time)

The Call is open to all participants and host institutions:

US time is open to all astronomers worldwide including those at non-US institutions, although in that case, the proposal must explain why U.S. national facilities are needed.

Time Available in 2025A

A summary of the time distribution at each telescope is shown in the Table below. More information is available in the time distribution section of this Call for Proposals. At Gemini North, 164.5 nights are expected to be available for science. At Gemini South, 154.6 nights are expected to be available for science.

Participant/Type	North hours	South hours	Notes	Participant/Type	North hours	South hours	Notes
US*	727	628	US open skies policy allows PIs from any country to apply.	Director's Discretionary	72	67	Open to any astronomer.
Canada**	195	168		Fast Turnaround	131	120	Open to PIs from US, CA, AR, BR & KR. Not open to UH or CL.
Argentina	25	23		Large and Long**	98	153	Pre-allocated in A semesters. In B semesters, open to US and CA PIs.
Brazil	77	74		Guaranteed Time	48	60	For the MAROON-X, GHOST & speckle instrument teams.
Korea	88	82		Engineering	165	264
Univ. of Hawaii (host)	160
Chile (host)		149

* The US time available is an estimate that includes deductions for the Gemini Large and Long Programs, the US Long Term programs, and the US space mission support programs.
** The CA time available includes a deduction for the Gemini Large and Long Programs.

New and Notable in 2025A

The following capabilities and announcements are notable for the 2025A semester. Please see the relevant instrument pages and subsections of the call for proposals for details.

General:

All proposals to use Gemini in 2025A must use the 2025A Phase 1 template. When preparing PDF attachments, prospective PIs must follow the proposals template font size requirements in all cases, and avoid using smaller fonts in all sections of Gemini proposals (including in figures and tables).
Classical mode observing is offered in semester 2025A for facility instruments only.
Priority Visitor mode is offered at both Gemini North and Gemini South; however if circumstances preclude having people on site, then awarded Priority Visitor time will revert to queue. PIs requesting Classical observing must state in their technical justification how the observations could be done in queue mode (with remote eavesdropping for data quality assessment and decision making). The "Bring One, Get One" Student Observer Support Program remains unavailable for semester 25A.
Rapid Target of Opportunity (rToO) Proposals: These can be accommodated for most instruments and their modes (and this includes non-LGS modes), subject to instrument availability on the dates upon which observations are triggered.
GMOS On-Sky Arcs: GMOS baseline arcs are now taken on sky mixed with the science observations. For details on the updated GMOS arc baseline policy, please see this page.
Gemini North Engineering Time:
- At some point in the semester, we anticipate taking the top end off for testing of new control computer/electronics with the tip-tilt system. The work, when it happens, is expected to last three weeks. We will avoid the period of peak RA demand (March-April) but cannot be precise at the time of this Call. If you have targets at the start or end of the semester, you should identify alternates if possible.
- We also anticipate commencing work in June on the GNIRS camera turret and other issues, including reinstating the short-red camera mode. This requires an extended period - of three or four months - with the instrument in the Hilo lab, and you should assume that GNIRS will be unavailable for the last two months of 2025A.
Gemini South is expected to be closed for the last 11 nights of semester 25A (July 21 - 31, 2025). These dates are provisional, and may be subject to change.
Gemini North - IGRINS-2: The new IGRINS-2 instrument will be available for shared-risk observations during semester 25A. For further information, please see here.
Gemini North - NIFS, NIRI & GRACES: No longer offered.
Gemini South - GHOST PIs to receive reduced data products: The US NGO, in collaboration with Gemini, will offer reduced spectra for GHOST programs from all partner countries. The reduced files will be available through the Gemini Observatory Archive, together with the raw data.
Graduate Student Visitor Program: The Gemini Observatory Graduate Student Visitor Program is temporarily suspended for semester 25A. Details of the Graduate Student Visitor program are available here.

Summary of 2025A Gemini Capabilities

Gemini North

Targets are generally limited to 4 < RA hours < 1 and -37 < Dec degrees < +90. Note that the RA ranges with limited accessibility near the start and end of the semester are typically in very high demand, and so prospective PIs may wish to consider avoiding targets with these RAs, where possible.

Facility instruments offered in 2025A are:

Altair AO system: NGS modes. There is currently a technical issue with Altair, a resolution for which is being worked on, and this may impact the availability of LGS+P1 (super-seeing) and LGS modes in the 2025A semester. Prospective PIs should check the instrument web page for news updates.
GMOS North (0.36-1.03 micron imager and spectrometer): Available throughout the semester. The GMOS-N B600 grating will not be offered because of its degraded sensitivity. The R600 grating will only be available for classical observing.
IGRINS-2: New high-resolution (R~45,000) near-infrared spectrograph covering the wavelength range of 1.49-1.80μm (H-band) and 1.96-2.46μm (K-band) in a single exposure. Offered in shared-risk mode for semester 25A during specific blocks, subject to RA demand.
GNIRS (1-5 micron spectrometer): Currently anticipated to be available for the period of February - May in 25A (see the preceding “New and Notable” section for further details). GNIRS can be used with or without AO capability. As before, the short red camera is NOT available. YJHK imaging is available via the acquisition keyhole. The GNIRS LR- and HR-IFUs are available for science during semester 25A.

Visiting instruments offered in 2025A (subject to demand) are:

'Alopeke: A dual-channel fast-readout visual-wavelength camera giving simultaneous diffraction-limited images in two filters over a 2.8 arcsec field of view; as well as a wide-field mode which provides simultaneous two-color imaging in standard SDSS filters over a 60" field of view. The scheduling and length of the 'Alopeke visiting block(s) will be subject to demand. ‘Alopeke may also be available outside those blocks on a best-efforts basis. Targets of Opportunity (Rapid or Standard) are accepted for 'Alopeke, but will only be executed during the instrument blocks.
MAROON-X: a high-resolution (R~80,000), optical (500 - 900nm) radial velocity (RV) spectrometer, is open to the community for high precision RV studies as well as general purpose high-resolution spectroscopy. Please use the Maroon-X Exposure Time Calculator to evaluate the instrument performance. It is now also possible to check for MAROON-X target duplication: please see the instructions in the Phase I checklist.

Gemini South

Targets are generally limited to 5 < RA hours < 1 and -90° < Dec degrees < +28°. There are additional constraints as described in the target accessibility and instrument restrictions page of this Call for Proposals. Note that the RA ranges with limited accessibility near the start and end of the semester are typically in very high demand, and so prospective PIs may wish to consider avoiding targets with these RAs, where possible.

Facility instruments offered in 2025A are:

GMOS South (0.36-1.03 micron imager and spectrometer): Available throughout the semester. The R600 grating will only be available for classical observing.
FLAMINGOS-2 (0.9-2.4 micron wide-field imager and spectrometer): Available in imaging, long-slit and MOS modes throughout the semester. For F2MOS observations, pre-imaging is often required, and prospective PIs should factor the additional time needed for this into their proposals.
GSAOI (0.9-2.4 micron adaptive optics imager) with the GeMS Adaptive Optics system: Due to guide star limitations, investigators must check the availability of Guide Star constellations using the Observing Tool before submitting a proposal. Observations in IQ85 are possible for programs that can use delivered images with full-width half-maximum of ~0.2 arcseconds as opposed to the ≤ 0.1 arcseconds delivered in IQ70 or IQ20 conditions. Observations under non-photometric conditions with 0.1 mag uniform extinction are also possible under very good IQ conditions. The expectation is to have two or three laser runs of 7 nights each during the semester, the actual schedule will be based on the demand from the community.
GHOST: Available throughout the semester during scheduled blocks. Potential users should check for updates on the GHOST web pages for further details and status updates.

Visiting instruments offered in 2025A (subject to demand) are:

Zorro: a dual-channel fast-readout visual-wavelength camera giving simultaneous diffraction-limited images in two filters over a 2.8 arcsec field of view; as well as a wide-field mode which provides simultaneous two-color imaging in standard SDSS filters over a 60" field of view. The scheduling and length of the Zorro visiting block(s) will be subject to community demand. Targets of Opportunity (Rapid or Standard) are accepted for Zorro, but will only be executed during the instrument blocks.

Important Dates for 2025A

The deadline for Phase I submission varies with participant (see the submission deadline Table at the top of this CfP). For successful proposals, both queue and classical, the Phase II submission deadline is 16th January 2025. Check the 2025A schedule for key dates and events in the proposal process.

Phase I Submission Guidelines for 2025A

Proposals for time on Gemini, and for time on Subaru via the Gemini-Subaru time exchange program, must use the Gemini Phase I Tool (PIT). Latex and Word templates are available to create pdf attachments which include the science and technical cases, and investigator information. The template has been revised to enable the anonymous review process, and to make proposals requirements uniform across the partners. Two attachments are required for the proposal so that team information can be separated from the science case.

All Gemini proposals requesting time from the US, CA, BR, or AR must be anonymized. Proposals which do not meet the guidelines will be penalized. This applies to proposals requesting time only from these partners, as well as joint proposals requesting time from multiple participants which include any of these partners. This requirement applies whether it is the PI or a co-I that has the relevant partner affiliation.

Specific Timing Windows: In order to maximize the chances of completing observations with timing windows, 25A proposals should:

Provide a clear indication of the need for timing windows at Phase 1. If they are highly constraining (e.g. fewer than 6 observing possibilities), then PIs are strongly recommended to list them explicitly.
Use observing constraints appropriate to the expected conditions. For example, if the only timing window for your proposal occurs during dark time, you should make sure to choose SB20 or 50 as appropriate.

Additional options in the Time Requests module in the PIT are available for semester 2025A:

The Gemini 2025A Phase 1 Tool includes options to specify that the proposal is for the AEON multi-telescope-facility system.
Also in the 2025A Time Requests module, there is an option to identify proposals which have synergies with James Webb Space Telescope science. The goal for providing this proposal category is to encourage development of science programs that benefit from a combination of Gemini and JWST observations.

Time for baseline partner calibrations is automatically added to the total time requested for each target in the PIT. Investigators should continue to include the time associated with overheads (acquisition time, readout time, etc). The ITC output gives overhead estimates. 'Alopeke and Zorro PIs should include program time for PSF standards if they need them.

Targets of opportunity proposals must include all instrument configurations which the team may want to use, at Phase 1. This enables automatic creation of templates, and avoids errors at Phase 2.

Subaru Exchange Time

The exchange of time between the Gemini and Subaru communities will continue in 2025A; around 5 nights are expected to be available on Subaru for the Gemini community via the exchange program. Subaru exchange time is open to all Gemini partners, including Chile. A summary of the Subaru capabilities in 2025A is given below, PIs should also consult the Subaru Call for Proposals.

In addition, the Gemini community can propose shorter programs for Subaru's Service mode. PIs must indicate on the proposal whether regular or service time is requested. Service programs must be short programs of less than 4 hours duration including calibration and overheads, using one of IRCS, HDS, FOCAS or MOIRCS. Up to 1 night is expected to be available in this mode for the Gemini community. Prospective investigators must carefully review the Service Program web page. In particular, some additional, detailed technical information must be provided at the time of Phase-1 submission. Service proposals are reviewed by the National TACs together with the regular proposals.

Details:

Duplicate Subaru proposals submitted via other routes: If eligible PIs submit a proposal for Gemini Subaru exchange time and also submit the same proposal to a different TAC in parallel (e.g. researchers via the open use time offered in the Subaru Call, Gemini community PIs via the Gemini time-exchange program or Keck community PIs via the Keck time-exchange program), the proposers are asked to explicitly note the double submission in the proposal.
Proposal submission: Proposals for time on Subaru via the Gemini time-exchange program are submitted via the normal Gemini Phase I process.
HSC proposal length limits: For semester 25A, Gemini users can request no more than 3.5 nights (35 hours science time including overhead) in the case of HSC queue, and no more than 5.0 nights in the case of HSC classical requests.
Subaru Strategic Programs (SSP): The IRD SSP will be allocated the final 6 nights of the semester. In addition, if the PFS SSP is accepted, it will be assigned up to 36 nights in semester 25A, with the result that only a limited number of available dark nights for normal programs will be available.
Deformable Mirror (DM) upgrade for AO188: As part of the AO3k project, the DM has been upgraded from a 188-element bimorph mirror to a 3228-actuator magnetic mirror. AO188 provides three modes:
- NGS/AO188 mode: Uses the 188-element Wave Front Sensor (WFS) + 3k-element DM);
- LGS/AO188 mode: Uses the 188-element WFS + 3k-element DM;
- NIRWFS/AO3k mode: Uses the NIR WFS + 3k-element DM.

While the NIR WFS provides high-performance AO correction, NGS and LGS mode performance is unchanged because they use 188-element WFS. Please consult the AO3k web page for more information.

Instrument switches during the night: Switching between IRD, REACH, CHARIS, VAMPIRES and Fast PDI during a single or half-night observation is possible. Please check the Subaru Call for Proposals for the time required for switching instruments.
Subaru telescope downtime:
- Engineering Downtime: During semester 2025A, the telescope is expected to be closed for approximately 3 nights in February or early March for electrical work.
  NsIR Downtime: Due to installation work on the Nasmyth Beam Switcher (NBS), all instruments except for IRD on the NsIR focus - including IRCS, SCExAO, CHARIS, VAMPIRES, Fast PDI and REACH - will be unavailable for approximately 2.5 months between late March and July.
Subaru instrument and telescope restrictions:
- The laser guide star (LGS) system for AO188 will be operated with TBAD (Transponder Based Aircraft Detector) with a shared-risk policy. Please consult the AO188 web page for the latest information.
- The windscreen of the Subaru telescope is out of operation in 2025A, and thus tracking of target may not be possible in high winds. It is recommended that PIs have targets across a range of RAs so that different azimuth angles are available.

Facility instruments offered in 2025A:

AO188 (Subaru 188-elements Adaptive Optics system) is available.
FOCAS (optical camera and spectrograph) is available.
HDS (optical high dispersion spectrometer) is available.
Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC - very wide field optical to far-red imager): There will be at most two (2) or three (3) HSC observing runs in the S25A semester, depending on the number of PFS commissioning runs as well as the timing of the facility maintenance works. Note that some filters require permission from the PI of the filters. All applicants must explicitly describe the filters they intend to use, in their proposal. The desired set as well as the minimum acceptable set should be clearly specified. Please check the HSC website for full details.
IRCS (infrared camera and spectrometer, with AO188 capability) is available. Please note that LGS-AO mode will be operated with TBAD in a shared-risk policy. All proposals requesting LGS mode observation should prepare a backup plan with NGS Mode. Prospective PIs should check the filter availability for the instrument before submitting a proposal. The polarimetry mode is a shared-risk mode, accessible via collaboration with the waveplate PI.
MOIRCS (Multi-Object Infrared Camera and Spectrograph) is available. MOS Mode will be conditionally available for Service Mode.
PFS (Prime Focus Spectrograph; 2400-fiber spectrograph spanning 0.38μm - 1.26μm with a FoV of 1.25 deg^2) is available for open use in semester 25A, in shared risk mode. For the latest information and application procedures, please refer to the PFS webpage. Most importantly, all PFS proposals (including exchange time programs) must provide the "target upload ID" in the proposal. Also, please note that targets must be fixed at the time of proposal submission - targets cannot be changed at later stages. The default observing mode of PFS is queue mode. Fibers will be shared by different programs.

Visiting instruments offered in 2025A, are listed below. Proposals to use visiting instruments must include the instrument PIs as Co-investigators.

CHARIS (with SCExAO + AO188, including spectropolarimetric mode): Coronagraphic High Angular Resolution Imaging Spectrograph - provides high contrast images of exoplanets, disks, brown dwarfs with SCExAO.
Fast PDI (in shared-risk mode; with SCExAO + AO188): polarization differential imaging (PDI) with a high speed (>kHz) near-IR (950 - 1860 nm) low-noise camera (C-RED One), optimized for high contrast imaging of circumstellar disks with with SCExAO + AO188.
IRD - Infrared Doppler (in shared-risk mode; NGS-AO or LGS-AO): infrared high-dispersion, high resolution (up to 70,000) fiber-fed spectrometer. The IRD SSP (Subaru Stragetic Program) was started in 2019A – any IRD proposal must clarify how its scientific aim is different from the SSP. The observing mode REACH (SCExAO + IRD), is available (see below).
REACH (combination of SCExAO and IRD for single-mode fiber spectroscopy): REACH can be used simultaneously with CHARIS with any dispersion modes, but the wavelength coverage of CHARIS will be from 1850 nm to the longest wavelengths (please see the CHARIS website for details).
VAMPIRES: The Visible Aperture Masking Polarimetric Imager for Resolved Exoplanetary Structures (VAMPIRES) is a visible light instrument on the SCExAO system. Cameras have been upgraded for improved sensitivity, speed and dynamic range. A new multi-band imaging mode is available.
NsIR Wave Plate Unit: a visiting device for IRCS/SCExAO polarimetry mode.
NIR-WFS: Near Infrared Wavefront Sensor. Located inside the AO188 instead of the visible curvature wavefront sensor of AO188 for SCExAO and IRCS.

CHARIS, Fast PDI and VAMPIRES can be used together at the same time as the modules of SCExAO (Subaru Coronagraphic extreme Adaptive Optics). Please check the relevant instrument web pages for the latest information.

Other Proposal Opportunities in 2025A

Other proposal opportunities are available at Gemini Observatory in 2025A. These include:

The Fast Turnaround (FT) Program provides monthly opportunities to submit proposals, with successful programs scheduled for observation starting one month after each proposal deadline. Up to 10% of the time at Gemini North and Gemini South is available for the FT programs. PIs must be members of the Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Korea, the United States or Subaru astronomy communities. The University of Hawaii and Chile do not take part in the FT program and therefore UH and Chilean PIs do not have access to FT time.

Director's Discretionary Time is open to any astronomer worldwide and proposals can be submitted at any time.

Poor Weather Proposals are solicited for programs that can use poor, but usable, conditions and are executed when nothing in the regular queue is observable. Proposals can be submitted via the normal TAC process (this call) or at any time. PIs must be based in Gemini participating countries or the host institutions.

The Gemini community is eligible to propose HyperSuprimeCam (HSC) filler programs on Subaru. Filler programs are executed in poor observing conditions (typically seeing >1.5 arcseconds, and/or poor transparency) and up to 35 hours can be requested by a filler proposal, although the first 4 hours have priority. Execution is not guaranteed: observations are made only when there is no other program in the HSC queue. In recent semesters, typically of order 15% of HSC time has gone to filler programs. Proposals must be sent through the Subaru submission system (NOT Gemini), and are considered only by the Subaru TAC. Note that only a short text summary of the program is required, not a full detailed Science Justification.

Data Rights, Proprietary Periods and Data Distribution

All data taken with the Gemini telescopes are the property of the Gemini Observatory. Principal investigators of Gemini regular programs (Queue/Classical/Poor Weather) have exclusive access to the data for their program for a period of 12 months. Data acquired as part of a Director's Discretionary (DD) program have a standard proprietary period of 6 months, however in exceptional circumstances the Observatory may remove DD proprietary periods. See the page Data Rights and Proprietary Periods for more information.

All data, including raw and available processed data, obtained with the Gemini telescope are distributed exclusively through the Gemini Observatory Archive. More information about the data distribution is given here.

Supporting Information for the Call for Proposals

Relevant general information related to the applications for time on Gemini Telescopes is presented in the supporting information page. Consult there for the following:

Time Allocation Process (National and International Time Allocation Committees)
Submitting for time on both telescopes
Band 1 Persistence
Electronic PIT Submission
Joint Proposals
Under-utilized Instruments
Targets of Opportunity
GMOS Mask definitions
Poor Weather Programs
Exchange Time
Target information (guide stars, non-sidereal objects, time-specific observations)
Duplicate Observations

Prospective users should also refer to the target and instrument accessibility page, and the instrument pages for detailed and up to date information on instrumentation.

Questions and Answers

All questions concerning proposals, or any other subject, should be made using the Gemini HelpDesk. The system will send the request to your National Gemini Office staff in the first instance who will escalate it to Gemini staff if necessary.

Comments and suggestions on the format and content of this page and supporting pages are welcome, and should be sent to Mark Rawlings and Joan Font-Serra.