Special Call for Proposals Through LCO / NSF Agreement

Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) have entered into an agreement through which time on LCO telescopes is being made available to the community at large. Funding for this program is being provided through the NSF Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST) Mid-Scale Innovations Program (MSIP). Starting in 2017, approximately 1,220 hours of 1-meter time and 220 hours of 2-meter time per semester will be allocated over a period of seven semesters.

The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) has responsibility for community liaison, supporting community science, and assigning time through the NOAO Telescope Allocation Committee (TAC) process. This Call for Proposals (CfP) is a special call that is out of sync with the usual NOAO semester call (where the 2017B CfP will be posted on 1 March 2017 and proposals due on 31 March 2017); however the next LCO CfP will be incorporated into the regular NOAO TAC schedule for 2018A (in September 2017). The timeline for this special CfP has a proposal deadline of 10 February 2017, the NOAO/LCO TAC panel meeting on 10 March 2017, successful applicants notified on 15 March 2017, and observing to commence on 1 April 2017.