Observations in the HST Data Archive that are no longer proprietary (see Section 1.4.9) are available for analysis by interested scientists through direct retrieval (which is free and does not involve financial support). The HST Archival Research (AR) Program can provide financial support for the data analysis. An AR Proposal must request a specific amount of funding (see Section 8.6.3) and must provide a narrative that describes the proposed use of the funds (see Section 9.7). Detailed budgets are not requested in Phase I, but are due in Phase II only (as is the case for GO and SNAP proposals; see Chapter 12 for details). Proposals for AR funding are considered at the same time, and by the same reviewers, as proposals for observing time. Observing and AR proposals are compared competitively on the basis of scientific merit.
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Only U.S. Investigators (as defined in Section 12.2) are eligible for funding of Archival Research. |
An Archival Research Proposal may be submitted by a non-U.S. PI if there are one or more U.S. CoIs who request funding.
HST has produced an extraordinary quantity of high-quality observations over its sixteen years in orbit. The category of Regular AR Proposals (see Section 3.4.1) has existed for many cycles. To encourage fuller use of available data and to achieve the full potential of the Data Archive, the opportunities for large-scale archival research were expanded in Cycle 11 with the introduction of the category of Legacy AR Proposals ( Section 3.4.2). In particular, we encourage the submission of proposals that combine HST archival data with data from other astronomical missions, such as the datasets maintained at the Multimission Archive at STScI (MAST).
The general goal of a Regular AR Proposal is to analyze a subset of data from the HST Archive to address a specific scientific issue. The analysis must improve on the previous use(s) of the data, or the scientific questions that are being addressed must differ from those tackled by the original programs that obtained the data.
There is no limit to the amount of funding that may be requested for a Regular AR Program. The majority of the awards in recent cycles have been under $100,000, with a median around $50,000. However, STScI actively encourages the submission of more ambitious AR programs for which larger amounts of funding may be justified. For reference, 42 Regular AR Proposals were approved in Cycle 15.
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An AR proposal will be considered to be a Regular AR Proposal, unless it is identified in the 'Special Proposal Types' section of the proposal (see Section 8.10) as a Legacy AR or Theory Proposal. |
A Legacy AR project is defined by the following characteristics:
The main difference between a Regular and a Legacy AR project is that the former aims at performing a specific scientific investigation, while the latter will also create data products and/or tools for the benefit of the community. While Legacy AR Proposals will be judged primarily on the basis of scientific merit, the importance and broad applicability of the products produced by the Legacy Program will be key features in judging the overall scientific merit of the proposal.
It is a strict requirement for Legacy AR Proposals that the proposed data products be created and distributed to the community in a timely manner. Data products should also be delivered to STScI in suitable digital formats, to allow dissemination via the HST Data Archive or related channels.
It is anticipated that Legacy AR Proposals will be larger in scope and requested funds than most Regular AR Proposals. While there is no lower limit on the requested amount of funding, it is expected that most proposals will require at least $100,000, and possibly up to a few times more than this, to accomplish their goals. Commensurate with the expected scope, Legacy AR Proposals are allowed to be multi-year projects, although this is not a requirement. Multi-year projects will be funded on a yearly basis, with continued funding beyond the first year subject to a performance review. Legacy AR Proposals will be evaluated by the TAC (see Section 6.1.2) in conjunction with Large and Treasury GO Programs (see Section 3.2.2 and Section 3.2.6).
For reference, three AR Legacy Proposals were approved in Cycle 15 and four in Cycle 14. Descriptions of these programs are available on the HST Treasury, Archival Legacy and Large Programs Web Page.
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Legacy AR Proposals must be identified in the 'Special Proposal Types' section of the proposal (see Section 8.10). |
The 'Scientific Justification' section of the proposal (see Section 9.1) should include a description of the scientific investigations that will be enabled by the final data products, and their importance. The 'Analysis Plan' section of the proposal (see Section 9.6) should not only describe the plans for data analysis, but should also discuss the data products that will be made available to STScI and the community, the method of dissemination, and a realistic time line.
Calibration proposals (see Section 3.2.4) may also be submitted as an Archival Research Program. Archival proposals are appropriate in cases where the necessary data have already been taken, or for programs that do not require specific data but aim to develop specialized software for certain HST calibration and data reduction tasks. Examples of topics that have been addressed by calibration outsourcing programs of the type discussed here are:
For a complete description of the instrument calibration plans/accuracies, and for other potential topics, please see the Scientific Instruments Web Page.
All proposers are strongly encouraged to contact the appropriate instrument group to discuss their program prior to submission.
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Calibration Proposals must be identified in the 'Special Proposal Types' section of the proposal (see Section 8.10). |
There is the opportunity under the HST Archival Research Program to obtain support for theoretical research. Research that is primarily theoretical can have a lasting benefit for current or future observational programs with HST, and it is appropriate to propose theory programs relevant to the HST mission. Recent trends in HST funding suggest that of order 5% of the total HST GO Funding might be used to support Theory Proposals.
A Theory Proposal should address a topic that is of direct relevance to HST observational programs, and this relevance should be explained in the proposal. Funding of mission-specific research under the HST Theory Program will be favored over research that is appropriate for a general theory program (e.g., the NASA Science Mission Directorate Astrophysics Theory Program; ATP). The primary criterion for a Theory Proposal is that the results should enhance the value of HST observational programs through their broad interpretation (in the context of new models or theories) or by refining the knowledge needed to interpret specific observational results (a calculation of cross sections may fall under the latter category). The results of the theoretical investigation should be made available to the community in a timely fashion.
A Theory Proposal must request a specific amount of funding (see Section 8.6.3) and must provide a narrative that describes the proposed use of the funds (see Section 9.7). Detailed budgets are not requested in Phase I, however, but are due in Phase II only (see Chapter 12 for details). Theoretical research should be the primary or sole emphasis of a Theory Proposal. Analysis of archival data may be included, but should not be the main aim of the project. GO or AR proposals which include a minor component of theoretical research will be funded under the appropriate GO or AR Program.
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Only U.S. Investigators (as defined in Section 12.2) are eligible for funding under the HST Theory Program. |
A Theory Proposal may be submitted by a non-U.S. PI if there are one or more U.S. CoIs who request funding.
Award amounts for Theory Proposals are anticipated to be similar to those made for 'Regular AR' proposals (see Section 3.4.1), for which the majority of the awards in recent cycles have been under $100,000, with a median around $50,000. For reference, 12 Theory Proposals were approved in Cycle 15. STScI also allows the submission of more ambitious proposals for which larger amounts of funding may be justified.
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Theory Proposals should be identified in the 'Special Proposal Types' section of the proposal (see Section 8.10). |
The 'Scientific Justification' section of the proposal (see Section 9.1) should describe the proposed theoretical investigation and also its impact on observational investigations with HST. Review panels will consist of observational and theoretical astronomers with a broad range of scientific expertise (see Section 6.1.1). They will not necessarily have specialists in all areas of astrophysics, particularly theory, so the proposals must be written for general audiences of scientists. The 'Analysis Plan' section of the proposal (see Section 9.6) should discuss the types of HST data that will benefit from the proposed investigation, and references to specific data sets in the HST Data Archive should be given where possible. This section should also describe how the results of the theoretical investigation will be made available to the astronomical community, and on what time scale the results are expected.
Please consider the following when developing your AR proposal:
Large Searches and Requests Webpage guides users who expect to request more than 500 ACS, 1000 STIS, 500 NICMOS or 750 WFPC2 datasets at one time (a dataset consists of associated exposures).
US National Virtual Observatory and the International Virtual Observatory Alliance Web pages for information. Note however that HST data must form the major focus of any AR proposal; requests for support of AR programs using data primarily from other missions should follow the guidelines in the appropriate NASA Research Announcements.
STScI would like to point out the following rich sources for Archival Research:
Hubble Ultradeep Field (UDF).
this link.
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Space Telescope Science Institute http://www.stsci.edu Voice: (410) 338-1082 help@stsci.edu |