General     Instrument availability     TAC criteria     Travel Support     Forms for Downloading     Important dates

COO Proposal Format


The cover sheets: One per proposal.

  1. Palomar see http://www.astro.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/TAC/palcover.cgi for the Palomar cover sheet.
    You can enter, Show then Print (as a pdf or ps file) the cover information.
    Please include standardized telescope reference(s) in publications utilizing Palomar data.
  2. Keck see http://www2.keck.hawaii.edu/inst/siastng/release/web/CoverSheet/proposalCoverSheet.php for the Keck cover sheet.
    You can use the LaTeX forms below to create Keck & Palomar proposal(s).

The Proposal consists of 6 components: See ./cooforms/COO_blank.pdf for an example template.

  1. The cover sheet obtained by entering, Showing and printing the appropriate Palomar or Keck cover form (above).
    You can use your browser to Print the completed form to a pdf or ps file for submission with your proposal.
  2. The discussion. A SHORT description of the project, explaining the scientific goals and methodology, and justifying the time and equipment requested. New projects should estimate the total time required to complete the work. Ongoing projects should give the status of previously obtained data. Explain any constraints that may affect scheduling. (see also TAC criteria). The TAC requires a maximum of:
    TWO sides of 11 or 12-pt, single-spaced text with appropriate margins, and up to 2 sides of diagrams, tables and references.
    Message from the Director: You are reminded to stick to the font and page limit. Smaller margins can win you word-space, but will not work in your favor as most referees are put off by overly dense text. Cramming figures may not annoy Lilliput citizens, but will certainly annoy Brobdingnagians. The Director's office reserves the right to reject or truncate proposals that do not conform to these guidelines.
  3. Allocation history. Summarize time allocated to you in the last 4 semesters.
  4. Bibliography of your refereed papers from the last 2 years - emphasis on Keck/Palomar based papers.
    Items 3 & 4 can be combined as a separate file (eg. PIname_pub_time.pdf), and submitted only once for PIs with multiple proposals.
  5. Observing List. A list of targets: names, coordinates, magnitudes (and band). Include for each proposal.
  6. Thesis Project. Details of time awarded and status of data obtained for approved thesis projects.
Multiple proposals for different projects should each include items 1,2,5 & 6 (if applicable). Proposals for one subject that involve multiple telescopes should include the scientific discussion (2) with the proposal to the largest telescope. The related proposals should include at least a cover sheet for each telescope requested, with sufficient information to indicate the connections. Please let tac know of problems or suggested improvements to these forms.

SUBMISSION of Proposals

Or they can still be printed and handed in to Carlton Parker in Robinson room 17.

LaTeX template forms to construct proposals

General     Instrument availability     TAC criteria     Travel Support     Forms for Downloading     Important dates