DKIST Proposing Overview
Proposing Overview
The DKIST invites the astronomical community to propose for DKIST regular observing time through the announcement of a Proposal Call. The Proposal Call provides an overview of the DKIST’s expected capabilities for that Proposal Cycle, including information about the telescope and its scientific instruments. It also summarizes and refers to existing policies and procedures pertaining to the proposing process applicable to the upcoming Proposal Cycle.
Information about the current Proposal Call is accessible through the DKIST’s Proposal Call Announcement page.
Proposal Preparation and Submission
The Proposal Architect Tool is used for Proposal Preparation and Submission. No other form of submission will be accepted. The submission of Proposals is accepted during a defined time window only as announced in the through the DKIST Proposal Call Announcement page.
Instruments and FIDO
The DKIST offers a combination of state-of-the-art instruments with imaging and/or spectro-polarimetric capabilities covering a broad wavelength range. The light distribution among the instruments is managed by a series of dichroic beam-splitters, mirrors and windows, a.k.a. the Facility Instrument Distribution Optics (FIDO), located in the coudé room.
Before submitting a proposal users should make themselves familiar with the DKIST Instrument Systems and with the Facility Instrument Distribution Optics (FIDO). Instrument capabilities can be explored through the Instrument Performance Calculators (IPCs) tools (which can be downloaded from the individual instrument web pages), that users should run before submitting. Similarly, coudé configuration and combination of instruments can be explored using the FIDO tool (a.k.a. Beam Splitter configuration tool). The FIDO tool also allows exploration of the data rate of proposed observations and whether that is compatible with the capabilities of the DKIST Data Handling System (DKIST DHS.pdf ).
Not all configurations are available at all times. Information about available configurations for each Cycle is provided in the DKIST Cycle 4 Call for Proposals .
Observing Modes
The DKIST offers two different Observing Modes for Investigators: Service Mode Observing (SMO) and Access Mode Observing (AMO). Observing modes specify how observations are scheduled and carried out. Investigators can apply for either of the modes.
Restrictions may apply as specified in the DKIST Cycle 4 Call for Proposals .
Proposal Review and Selection
Proposals are evaluated according to technical feasibility and scientific merit. The evaluation criteria and process are described on the Proposal Review and Selection page.
Proposal Principal Investigators (PIs) will be notified regarding the outcome of the evaluation process before the start of the observations for that Proposal Cycle.