The OPTICON call for Transnational Access in Semester 2021A is OPEN and will close on 31 August 2020
We are pleased to announce that the call for observing time at night time telescopes supported by the OPTICON-Radionet Pilot (ORP) Trans-National Access programme is now open. See https://www.astro-opticon.org/h2020/tna/call/call-2021a.html
The call will close on August, 31st 2020 at 23.59 UT exactly.
The present EC OPTICON contract ends on 31 December 2020. This call is being made under the auspices of a new contract (the OPTICON-Radionet Pilot) which we expect will come into force on 1 January 2021. From a user's point of view we expect the conditions of this new contract to be almost identical, although the telescope suite is slightly different. However there is a small but finite risk that conditions may be different, or indeed that the putative new contract may not be granted or that its start may be delayed. Proposers should therefore be aware that any proposals made under this call carry a small additional risk that they may not be scheduled, or that travel support might not be available. Furthermore, in view of the COVID-19 crisis, some observatories may be forced to close temporarily, or may not be able to host visiting observers. Runs so affected will not automatically be rescheduled, this will depend on local observatory policies.
The Telescopio Nazionale Galileo offers 10 nights from April 1st, 2021 to September 30th, 2021. GIARPS configuration is selectable via Northstar.
Note that the monitoring mode is subjected to severe limitations at TNG. The schedule is dominated by long blocks of full-nights belonging to GTO and Italian Large Programs. Queing mode is not offered at all. Service time is scheduled on fixed nights so, e.g., seeing requirements do not apply. Objects included in the TNG Protected Target List cannot be requested. Note that GIANO-B may be unavailable in April due to maintenance. Please contact the TNG staff if you have specific time constraints.
A Long-Term program on the optical counterparts of gravitational wave events is already running at TNG. Therefore, proposals on this topic will not be accepted anymore.