Semester 06B Call For Proposals

FOLLOWING IS THE TEXT OF THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS FROM PPARC:

The Liverpool 2.0 metre fully robotic telescope sited at Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos, La Palma, Canary Islands, is now accepting proposals for Semester 06B (1-Aug-2006 to 31-Jan-2007).  

The time available to UK applicants through PATT is 191.8 hours. The deadline for submission is 15 March 2006.

The instruments available are RATCAM, SupIRCAM and RINGO.  RINGO is a JMU Astrophysics Research Institute internally-funded fast-track instrument.  It is an expert user instrument: potential users should contact the LT Support Astronomer directly to discuss the capability of the instrument and feasibility of the observing programme before submitting an observing proposal.

The current rms pointing of the LT is 6 arcsec.  An additional set of encoders have been fitted to the secondary mirror (M2). Initial results are very encouraging.  It is expected that for 2006B, rms pointing will be 3 arcsec.

Currently, the highest priority for the LT technical group is provision of an autoguider for the telescope. The ARI plans by June 2006 to have a working autoguider available for use on the LT. Programmes requiring the autoguider can be scheduled for 2006B. The recommended maximum exposure time for unguided exposures is 120 seconds. The maximum exposure for guided exposures is expected to be 30 minutes and are expected to provide seeing-limited images.

We welcome applications for all available observing modes, conditions and RA ranges, particularly those that take advantage of the robotic nature of the LT.

Dr Pierre Maxted
Chair, PATT Liverpool Telescope allocation committee.