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Instructions for Completion of Phase II/OT Science Programs: Semester 2006B

This page provides instructions for completing Phase II Science Programs for all Gemini North and Gemini South instruments. It includes submission details and procedural changes. Please read this page carefully!

Note: As in the previous semester the Phase II deadlines are hard deadlines for queue programs (see details below). Programs that have not completed their Phase II definitions by the deadlines will be dropped from the queue.

Distribution of Phase II Skeletons

All observations must be defined using the Observing Tool (OT) software. Gemini staff have translated approved Phase I proposals into the Phase II format for loading into the OT. In this process, the observations and other details entered in Phase I are used to construct a ("skeleton") framework of your Science Program.

Instructions on skeleton retrieval were sent to PIs during the week of June 12. As in previous semesters, the Phase II skeletons are downloaded/uploaded directly from/to the Gemini telescope databases to enable more efficient and rapid processing. See more information on using the Observing Database.

A new release of the OT ("abeja") is available to support Semester 2006B Phase II preparation (as well as on-going 2005B and 2006A programs); do not use the previous "pulga" public release. Also, PIs preparing PhaseIIs for GNIRS and GMOS-S IFU nod & shuffle should be sure to use Abeja version 3.5 (released 30 June 2006) which includes fixes for several bugs. There are OT installation instructions available. If you are unfamiliar with the OT, there is an OT tutorial that provides a useful introduction. In addition, each instrument also has several web pages that provide guidance on observing strategies and how to describe these in the OT.

Relaxation of Observing Condition Constraints and Other Observation Changes

For semester 2006B the queue was constructed by filling the expected observing conditions (and overfilling the poorer than average conditions) but limited to the total available queue time (i.e. the total science time less scheduled classical nights and estimated Band 1 rollover programs). Band 3 programs, which now occupy the lowest half of the queue, are unlikely to be executed, and very unlikely to be completed, if they request conditions that are better than average (especially in cloud cover and image quality).

As in the previous semester we encourage PIs of Band 3 programs, in particular, to think carefully about relaxing the observation constraints within the context of their overall time allocation and approved science goals (e.g. by observing fewer targets). One useful analogy is to consider "how would I attempt this program if it were classically scheduled and the conditions were sub-optimal?".

New in semester 2006B we have started a "poor weather queue". This is a pilot program to fill telescope time under very poor, but usable, conditions. Time spent on these programs will not be charged to the PI or the partner countries. These are queue programs only but are distinct from the "regular" band 1 to band 3 queue. They will be executed only when nothing in the regular queue is observable. In all other respects (Phase II deadlines, NGO and contact scientist support, science archive data distribution) they are identical to other Gemini programs.

If your program is in the poor weather queue, it will be designated as "Band 4" above (and in the Phase II definition); it will also be identified as such in the ITAC comments.

Acceptable observing condition constraints for poor weather programs are:

CC=70%, 90% or "Any" and IQ="Any" and WV="Any" (no restriction on SB)
CC=90% or "Any" and WV="Any" (no restriction on IQ and SB)

The Observing Conditions component now also makes it possible to add airmass or hour angle constraints. While needed for some programs, use of these constraints is equivalent to a change to better conditions constraints than approved by the ITAC. Therefore, any use of the airmass or hour angle constraints requires approval via the change request procedure.

If during detailed definition you find that the approved observations need to be modified, please follow the change request procedure.

User Support

The National Gemini Offices are responsible for Phase II support for the "established" facility and visiting instruments as mandated by the Gemini Board. Phase II support for the other instruments remains with the Gemini Observatory staff. In outline, the Phase II process for the established instruments is as follows:

PIs interact with NGO support staff to complete Phase II using the OT for all observations with NIRI, including Altair, Phoenix, both GMOSs (including MOS mask design), T-ReCS, GNIRS and Michelle.
All Phase II Science Programs are checked by NGO staff prior to being forwarded to the Gemini Contact Scientist. (Note that Gemini CSs will return any Phase II programs that are received directly from PIs, with instructions to contact their NGO).
Gemini Contact Scientist checks Phase II Science Programs; if there is any problem the Science Program will be returned to the NGO support staff. The NGO staff will then iterate further with the PI.
Only when the Gemini Contact Scientist agrees that the Science Program is ready will it be activated in the queue for execution. The PI will be notified that their program is in the active queue and that the Gemini CS is now the primary contact point.

You can help us and speed this process by checking the program yourself (see the OT/Phase II checklist and instrument-specific checklists on the OT instrument component pages).

If you wish to change the primary contact for this program, e.g. to a co-I, please e-mail both Sybil Adams (sadamsgemini.edu) and Simon Chan (schangemini.edu) with a copy to both Gemini Heads of Science Operations (ijorgensengemini.edu, mwestgemini.edu) and a copy to your National Gemini office.

To help us in tracking and resolving user problems, questions and suggestions, and thereby improving the software and web pages, please use the Gemini HelpDesk. This allows us to ensure that no queries are missed and help us improve the software and documentation. A streamlined interface is available for Phase II queries, keyed to your Gemini Program ID (e.g. GS-2006B-Q-12). As with the regular HelpDesk interface, your query will be directed to the specific NGO or Gemini support staff. Support assignments do change occasionally and you can verify the contact names from the "interactive snapshot" of the Observing Database, accessed from the contents list on the schedules web page. (The NGO and Gemini support staff email addresses are listed on the support staff web page).

Deadlines and Mechanism for Return of Completed Science Programs

The mechanism for submitting your completed Phase II Science Program is by using the Store command in the Observing Tool and is the same for all instruments. See the Observing Database information for more details.

Dates for submission of completed Phase II information are (all 6pm local time):

Phase II deadlines for all instruments
Deadline	Notes
12 July	Early submission, recommended for any programs and especially advantageous for observations that can be executed early in the semester
11 August	Mandatory deadline for all queue programs. All Gemini North laser guide star (LGS) programs should use this deadline.
9 October	Special deadline for TEXES programs only.
various	Deadlines for GMOS mask design and MOS updates (several dates, synchronized with lunar phase)

These deadlines apply to all queue programs including templates for Quick Response / ToO observations. (In addition there are periodic deadlines during the semester for GMOS mask design and corresponding MOS observation updates only).

PIs of all classical programs must also submit Phase II observation definitions. The deadline for these is three weeks prior to the first scheduled night. (See the 2006B classical schedule and 2006B semester/instrument schedule).

Programs that have not completed their Phase II definitions by the deadlines noted above will be dropped from the queue or schedule. In exceptional cases an exemption may be requested by emailing both Heads of Science Operations (ijorgensengemini.edu and mwestgemini.edu)

In some cases GMOS PIs may be contacted directly and asked to submit their Phase II early to provide sufficient observations for pre-imaging and MOS spectroscopy at the very start of the semester. All MOS pre-imaging observation descriptions must be submitted by the regular deadlines (see table above).

OT and Other Late-Breaking Changes for 2006B

The principal changes to the OT software are listed on the OT Release Notes page. There are also several new policy changes. Here we summarise how they affect Phase II observation definition and point the user to further details.

Gemini North Laser Guide Star with NIFS and NIRI

The Altair Laser Guide Star (LGS) system is being offered for use with the NIRI and NIFS instruments in queue mode. Programs that use the LGS should submit their Phase II information for the August 11 deadline only. A call for proposals for Altair/LGS system verification has also been issued.

Michelle imaging polarimetry offered

Imaging polarimetry with Michelle is being offered for the first time in 2006B.

TEXES offered

The TEXES high-resolution mid-IR spectrograph (loaned from the U. of Texas) will be offered in a queue block on Gemini North. The PhaseII deadline for TEXES proposals is October 9.

Major new OT capabilities and procedure changes

Finding charts should and mask design (ODF) files should be submitted using the new File Attachment feature.
Group now come in two types, Scheduling Groups and Organizational Folders. Observations which must be scheduled together should be organized into Scheduling Groups. Folders should be used to organize related observations that do not have scheduling constraints.
The GCAL filter list has been updated to reflect filter changes. The ND1.6, ND5.0, and HROS balance filters have been replaced with ND2.0, ND4-5, and NIR balance filters. The NIRI and GNIRS OT libraries have been updated accordingly and the NIFS and GMOS libraries will be updated once new settings are available.
It is possible to set elevation constraints (airmass or hour angle) after appropriate approval.
Very rapid TOO triggers can now be submitted using a URL interface as well as by fetch/store.

Notification of Data Taken and Electronic Distribution

The "Notify PI" checkbox in the OT observation component is not yet active. Nonetheless, raw data are available "immediately" (usually within minutes) from the Gemini Science Archive using your OT (observing database) key for secure access to proprietary data. PIs will be notified by email once their data have been quality assessed and ingested into the archive and are available as a package along with other metadata (observing logs, calibrations etc). See more information about data retrieval from GSA.

Status of Submitted Programs and Observations

The 2006B queue summary and "interactive database snapshot" pages show the current execution status of all queue programs and indicates when data have been taken. (For the next level of detail, click on the "execution status" link under each program to see the status of each observation or on the execution log links in the contents list to see which observations were executed each night).

Last update July 7, 2006; Bryan Miller