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Telescope Access Metrics

Telescope Access Metrics. Presentation to NOAO Users Committee October 12, 2004. Ground rules. Categorize telescopes as Large: 6.5m or greater Gemini, others with TSIP (FIP) access Medium: 3-4.2m Mayall, Blanco, WIYN, SOAR Small: 0.9-2.1m KP 2.1m, WIYN 0.9m, SMARTS

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Telescope Access Metrics

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  1. Telescope Access Metrics Presentation to NOAO Users Committee October 12, 2004

  2. Ground rules • Categorize telescopes as • Large: 6.5m or greater • Gemini, others with TSIP (FIP) access • Medium: 3-4.2m • Mayall, Blanco, WIYN, SOAR • Small: 0.9-2.1m • KP 2.1m, WIYN 0.9m, SMARTS • Count nights available for science for past semesters • Extrapolate for future semesters • Gemini ramps up to 60 U.S. nights/telescope/semester • Currently averages ~50 • SOAR begins science observations in 2005B and ramps up over 1 year

  3. Precommitments-Surveys • Surveys • Note that surveys are subject to the same peer review as regular proposals • 20% cap • Proposals only taken once per year • Program started in 1999; none solicited in 2003 or 2004 • Surveys can run up to 5 years • Actual nights committed run 10-20% for both medium and small telescopes • No surveys have been granted on large telescopes

  4. Precommitments - NASA • Agreements with HST, Chandra, Spitzer • Up to 5% of NOAO time available for complementary (not follow-up) ground-based observations connected with successful proposals • Proposals go through NASA peer review and NOAO technical review • Actual nights committed typically are 5-15 per semester on all telescopes << 15% maximum

  5. Precommitments – instrument partnerships • Aimed at providing new instrumental capabilities on NOAO telescopes for guaranteed time • U Maryland agreement: 20% of Mayall time • Exchangable for WIYN or 2.1m • U. Md contribution (cash plus manpower) for NEWFIRM • Flamingos: base (4m: 3n, 2.1m: 5n) plus 4-6n for every 14 nights (after first 14) allocated to community • GSFC IRMOS: draft MOU – 4-5 n per semester on 4m, 8-10 n per semester on 2.1m, • Ge Exoplanet Tracker: draft MOU – 21 n per semester on 2.1m • All “guaranteed time proposals” go through TAC • If they do not succeed (which is rare), they are deferred to a later semester so the proposal can be improved

  6. Current tally

  7. Reasonable predictions • TSIP will continue to add 25-30 large telescope-nights per year • TSIP will also add 30-60 medium telescope-nights per year • The survey program will resume in 2005, leading to a future level of precommitment about the same as the past • The NASA precommitments will continue at a level of a few nights per semester • PREST will add approximately 200 nights of small telescope time per year

  8. Tally with reasonable predictions

  9. Nights remaining with predictions

  10. Oversubscription rates • Nights requested divided by nights available after precommitment • Even with devolution of small telescopes, access is reasonable • Survey proposals (not included in graph) run 4.5-5.5 for medium telescopes; 1.5-2.5 for small telescopes

  11. Conclusions • All oversubscription rates are in healthy range – and increase with increasing aperture • Status quo results in reasonable access • TSIP and PREST are expected to improve the situation – particularly for medium and small telescopes • Large telescope access is limited by willingness of independent observatories to give up more nights (TSIP) and by our fraction of Gemini.

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