STScI

Hubble Space Telescope Call for Proposals for Cycle 13

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Chapter 8:
Filling Out the APT Proposal Form

8.1 Title
8.2 Abstract
8.3 Proposal Phase
8.4 Category
8.5 Cycle
8.6 Requested Resources
    8.6.1 Primary and Parallel Orbits
    8.6.2 Total Targets
    8.6.3 Budget
8.7 Proprietary Period
8.8 Scientific Category
8.9 Keywords
8.10 Special Proposal Types
    8.10.1 Chandra ksec
    8.10.2 NOAO Nights
    8.10.3 Theory
    8.10.4 Legacy
    8.10.5 Calibration
    8.10.6 Treasury
8.11 Proposal PDF Attachment
8.12 Principal Investigator
8.13 Co-Investigators
8.14 Targets
    8.14.1 Target Name
    8.14.2 Provisional Coordinates
    8.14.3 V-Magnitude
    8.14.4 Other Fluxes
8.15 Observation Summary (OS)
    8.15.1 Target
    8.15.2 Instrument
    8.15.3 Instrument Setup(s)
    8.15.4 Config
    8.15.5 Science Mode
    8.15.6 Coronagraphy
    8.15.7 Selected Element(s)
    8.15.8 Orbits
    8.15.9 Number of Iterations
    8.15.10 Special Requirement Checkboxes
    8.15.11 Large Programs

As described in Chapter 7, a Phase I proposal consists of a completed APT proposal form and an attached PDF file. The present chapter describes the items that must be filled out in the APT proposal form; this information is also available from the `Help' in APT. Note that not every item described here needs to be filled out for every proposal. For example, some items are only relevant for observing proposals, while others are only relevant for archival proposals. APT will automatically let you know which items need to be filled out, depending on which proposal type you choose. Chapter 9 describes the items that must be addressed in the attached PDF file.

8.1 Title

The title of your proposal should be informative, and must not exceed 2 printed lines. Please use mixed case instead of all caps.

8.2 Abstract

Please write a concise abstract describing the proposed investigation, including the main science goals and the justification for requesting observations or funding from HST. The abstract must be written in standard ASCII and should be no longer than 20 lines of 72 characters of text.

8.3 Proposal Phase

No action is required by the proposer at this time. For Cycle 13, Phase I, the Phase will automatically be set to `Phase I'. See Section 2.1 for a description of the different phases in the HST proposal process.

8.4 Category

Select one of the following categories:

Proposals for Director's Discretionary Time (see Section 3.9) submitted outside of the normal review cycles should select:

8.5 Cycle

For a Cycle 13 proposal, enter `13' (this will be the default).

8.6 Requested Resources

8.6.1 Primary and Parallel Orbits

(This item appears in the APT form only for GO proposals)

Enter the total number of orbits requested for primary observations and parallel observations. Consult Chapter 6 of the HST Primer for instructions on how to calculate the appropriate number of orbits. Note that only whole orbits can be requested, and only whole orbits will be allocated. In general, only the boxes for `This Cycle' need to be filled out. However, long-term proposals (see Section 3.2.3) should provide a year-by-year breakdown of the orbits requested by also filling out the boxes for `Next Cycle' (i.e., Cycle 14) and `After Next' (i.e., Cycle 15).

8.6.2 Total Targets

(This item appears in the APT form only for SNAP proposals)

Specify the total number of targets requested. Note that multiple visits on the same source should be counted as multiple targets; see Section 3.3.

8.6.3 Budget

(This item appears in the APT form only for AR and Theory proposals)

Please enter a U.S. dollar figure for your total budget request. See Chapter 12 for details on Grant Policies and allowable costs. Make sure that all applicable indirect costs and overheads are included in the listed amount.

8.7 Proprietary Period

(This item appears in the APT form only for GO and SNAP proposals)

Enter the requested proprietary period, either 0, 3, 6 or 12 (months), that will apply to all observations in the program. Pure parallel programs have 0 proprietary period. The default proprietary period is 0 for GO Treasury Programs, and 12 for all other programs. See Section 5.1 on Data Rights for more information. The benefits of or need for a non-default proprietary period must be discussed in the `Special Requirements' section of the proposal (see Section 9.3).

8.8 Scientific Category

Specify one Scientific Category from the list below. Please adhere strictly to our definitions of these categories. If you find that your proposal fits into several categories, then please select the one that you consider most appropriate. If you are submitting a Calibration Proposal, then choose the Scientific Category for which your proposed calibration will be most important. The following are the available categories:

8.9 Keywords

From the list of Scientific Keywords in the pull-down menu (see also Appendix B), please select appropriate keywords that best describe the science goals of the proposal. Your choice here is important! Based on the keywords that you specify, your proposal will be assigned by software to specific reviewers during the proposal Review (see Section 6.1). Please give as many keywords as possible, but not more than five. You must give at least one keyword.

8.10 Special Proposal Types

8.10.1 Chandra ksec

(This item appears in the APT form only for GO proposals)

If you are asking for both HST and Chandra observing time (see Section 3.7) then list the requested number of Chandra kiloseconds. You should then also provide detailed information on the Chandra observations in the `Coordinated Observations' section of the proposal (see Section 9.4.1). If you are not requesting any new Chandra observations (or if you have Chandra time that has already been awarded), then enter `0'.

8.10.2 NOAO Nights

(This item appears in the APT form only for GO proposals)

If you are asking for both HST and NOAO observing time (see Section 3.8) then list the requested number of nights on NOAO telescopes. You should then also provide detailed information on the NOAO observations in the `Coordinated Observations' section of the proposal (see Section 9.4.2). If you are not requesting any new NOAO observations (or if you have NOAO time that has already been awarded), then enter `0'.

8.10.3 Theory

(This item appears in the APT form only for AR proposals)

Mark this keyword if you are submitting a Theory proposal (see Section 3.5).

8.10.4 Legacy

(This item appears in the APT form only for AR proposals)

Mark this keyword if you are submitting an AR proposal in the AR Legacy category (see Section 3.4.2).

8.10.5 Calibration

Mark this keyword if you are submitting a Calibration Proposal (see Section 3.6).

8.10.6 Treasury

(This item appears in the APT form only for GO proposals)

Mark this keyword if you are submitting a GO proposal in the Treasury category (see Section 3.2.4).

8.11 Proposal PDF Attachment

List the location on your computer of the PDF file that is to be attached to your Phase I submission. This file should contain the items described in Chapter 9.

8.12 Principal Investigator

Enter the name (last name first) and e-mail address of the PI. Please use standard ASCII. There can be only one PI per proposal. Entering the first few letters (at least two) and pressing enter or tab will bring up a window containing a list of matches from our proposer database. Clicking on your entry will populate the APT form with the information. If you are not in the database, click on "New Entry" and enter the information. Choose the correct institutional affiliation. For U.S. PIs (see Section 12.2), the institutional affiliation is defined as the institution that will receive funding if the proposal is approved. If you are in the database, but the address information is incorrect, do not click on "New Entry." Instead, select your entry in the list and click on "OK." Your information will be entered into the form editor where you can update it. Please mark the appropriate box for PIs with an institutional affiliation in an ESA member country.

8.13 Co-Investigators

Co-investigators (CoIs) can be added in APT as necessary in Phase I; once a program is approved (Phase II), a Co-I can only be added with prior approval (see Section 10.2). APT by default will provide one blank CoI template. Please add other CoIs or delete as necessary. For each CoI, list the name and e-mail address. Choose the correct institutional affiliation. For U.S. CoIs (see Section 12.2), the institutional affiliation is defined as the institution that will receive funding if the proposal is approved. Please mark the appropriate box for PIs with an institutional affiliation in an ESA member country. If a proposal has a non-U.S. PI and one or more U.S. CoIs, then you must mark the `Admin US PI' box for one of the U.S. CoIs. This indicates which U.S. CoI will be the Administrative PI for overseeing the grant funding for U.S. investigators (see Chapter 12 ).

8.14 Targets

Your proposal can include observations of fixed targets (i.e., all targets outside the solar system whose positions can be defined by specific celestial coordinates), generic targets (i.e., targets defined by certain general properties, rather than by specific coordinates), and solar-system targets (i.e., moving targets). Targets that have not yet been discovered or identified may generally be included only under special circumstances (see Section 4.1.3), and should be given generic target names.

8.14.1 Target Name

The target naming conventions for HST are defined in detail in the STScI Phase II Proposal Instructions. A direct internet link to these conventions is available on the Cycle 13 Announcement Web Page. Please adhere to these naming conventions throughout your proposal. For generic targets use a short text description either of the target location (e.g., RANDOM-FIELD) or of the target itself (e.g., NEXT-SUPERNOVA).

8.14.2 Provisional Coordinates

Supply the coordinates for fixed targets only. In Phase I, target positions with accuracies of order ±1 arcmin are sufficient for the TAC and panel review (except in crowded fields where the identity of the target may be in question). However, in Phase II significantly more accurate coordinates will be required, and it is the responsibility of the proposers to provide these. See the STScI Phase II documentation for details.

8.14.3 V-Magnitude

A magnitude or flux must be specified for every target. The target V-magnitude is required for observations which use one of the MAMA detectors. Supply the apparent total magnitude in the V passband for the entire target (galaxy, planet, etc.), if known. For variable targets, please give the brightest V magnitude expected during the observations. This information is used only for scientific review, not for exposure-time calculations. Note that the MAMAs have bright object safety limits. Observations that violate these limits are infeasible. See Section 5.1 of the HST Primer, or the Instrument Handbooks (see Section 1.4.3) for details.

8.14.4 Other Fluxes

For each target you must specify either a V-magnitude (above, required for MAMA observations) or another magnitude or flux. Supply the apparent total magnitude or flux in the relevant passband for the entire target (galaxy, planet, etc.), if known. For variable targets, please give the brightest magnitude expected during the observations. This information is used only for scientific review, not for exposure-time calculations. The format is free text.

8.15 Observation Summary (OS)

(This item appears in the APT form only for GO and SNAP proposals)

The OS lists the main characteristics of the observations that you propose to obtain. In general you must include in the OS all the configurations, modes and spectral elements that you propose to use, and all the targets that you propose to observe. Note the following:

The OS consists of individual `observation blocks', each containing several separate pieces of information.

All exposures for a given target and instrument may be summarized in a single observation block. This is new for Cycle 13.

Observation blocks are numbered sequentially in the APT Phase I proposal form. Each observation block should include the items that are listed and discussed below in separate sub-sections.

8.15.1 Target

Select the target from the pull down menu. The menu will contain all the targets you have entered on the "Targets" page.

8.15.2 Instrument

Select an instrument from the pull down menu. The menu will contain all the available instruments. Note that only one instrument can be selected in each observation block.

8.15.3 Instrument Setup(s)

Under "Instrument Setups" click on "Add". This will bring up a pop-up menu which will allow you to select the parameters for the observation (e.g., config, science mode, spectral elements).

8.15.4 Config

Enter the Scientific Instrument configuration. A pull-down menu shows the available and allowed options for the instrument you have selected.

8.15.5 Science Mode

Enter the science mode. A pull-down menu shows the available and allowed options (which depend on the choice of Configuration).

8.15.6 Coronagraphy

If you are proposing coronagraphic observations with STIS, NICMOS, or ACS, then set this keyword to `yes'.

8.15.7 Selected Element(s)

Enter the desired spectral elements (i.e., filters and gratings) using the `Spectral Element' pull-down menus which show the available and allowed options (which depend on the choice of Configuration and Science Mode). Note the following:

8.15.8 Orbits

Enter the number of orbits (i.e., the sum of the orbits required for all the instrument setups in the observation block). Consult Chapter 6 of the HST Primer for instructions on how to calculate the appropriate number of orbits for your observations.

8.15.9 Number of Iterations

If you require multiple sets of the observations, enter the number of iterations. (For example, if you will reobserve at a different time or if you have a large mosaic). This will automatically update the total number of orbits requested for the target.

8.15.10 Special Requirement Checkboxes

Mark one or more of the special requirement checkboxes, if applicable. The meanings of the checkboxes are indicated in the table below. Note that for snapshot observations, only the `duplication' checkbox is allowed.

Table 8.1:  Special Requirement Flags for the Observation Summary
Flag Use this flag for
Coordinated Parallel All of the exposures specified in this observation block are to be done in coordinated parallel mode (see Section 4.2).
CVZ Continuous Viewing Zone observations (see Section 4.1.1).
Duplication Observations which duplicate or might be perceived to duplicate previous or upcoming GO and/or GTO exposures (see Section 5.2.1).
Low Sky Low-sky observations (see Section 5.5.1 of the HST Primer).
Shadow Shadow Time observations (see Section 5.5.2 of the HST Primer).
Target of Opportunity Target-of-Opportunity observations (see Section 4.1.2).
Pure Parallel All of the exposures specified in this observation block are to be done in pure parallel mode (see Section 4.2.2).

8.15.11 Large Programs

If you are proposing for more than 100 orbits of prime observations, then we would like to have a little additional information. This information will help STScI understand and assess the scheduling implications of your program. Be sure also to read section 9.2, Description of Observations, as that is the primary place for describing your observing strategy.

For each observation block, please indicate the orientation angle required for that block.

If you have timing requirements between blocks, please indicate those as well. This is intended to capture repeated visits with spacings of multiple days or greater, not timing requirements on the order of orbits to a day or two.

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