Proposals are invited to request time on the network of 0.6-0.7 meter Thai Robotic Telescopes (TRTs) for Cycle 8D, July 1, 2021, to September 30, 2021. Eligible proposers are restricted to researchers affiliated with Thai institutes, and to researchers from institutes holding special Agreements with NARIT.
Important Note
- The TRT at SRO is now available with the standard UBVRI filters.
- We now enable Target of Opportunity (ToO) application outside of normal active CfP periods that can be submitted at any time. A normal application can only be submitted during an active CfP.
- The TAC will be putting a strong emphasis on the past publication record of PIs and projects previously allocated time on the TRTs during the past cycles. The proposer of an application under these conditions must take good care in filling out section C) and G) in the "Description of the proposed project" of the online form.
- You are required to read the instructions very carefully before making the applications. You must ensure that the applications are filled out truthfully and as accurately as possible. PIs are responsible for the content in the proposal, any misuse of NARIT facilities, data, or false information may result in being disqualified from the application process or any scheduled time slot.
- Metadata of the data taken will be made available on NARIT public scientific data archive. However, the actual data themselves will be kept proprietary for a period of ONE year after the end of the cycle in which the data were taken. After which, the data may be queryable by the public or any user of the NARIT scientific data archive. If for any reason, e.g. nature of the scientific campaign, etc., PI may request an extension of the proprietary period which the TAC will consider on a case by case basis.
- You can request the use of ONLY ONE scientific instrument per application.
Acknowledgment Rules
Any publication resulting from observations and data obtained by the TNT or TRTs MUST include the following sentence,
“Based on observations made with the Thai Robotic Telescope under program ID [ID], which is operated by the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (Public Organization).”
The Proposals will be reviewed and ranked on the basis of their scientific merit by a Time Allocation Committee (TAC) nominated by the NARIT Director. TAC members include qualified researchers from NARIT and other institutes in Thailand and Asia. The technical feasibility of the proposals will be reviewed by the NARIT Operations Department.
Automated Asteroids and moving objects search
Starting from Cycle 6C, the PI's are asked if they would volunteer for their data to be searched for moving objects in near realtime. The effort is being led by one of the NARIT researchers, Dr. David Mkrtichian. He is responsible for the auto-search pipeline and writing a report to Minor Planet Center (MPC) if a new asteroid is found. The co-authorship on the MPC report and subsequent publications of discovery are also offered to the PI of the project which data are taken for. The PI is asked to indicate his/her choice in the online proposal if they wish to participate in this program and if so whether he/she would like to be on the MPC report. The PI can also nominate one Co-I from his/her proposal to also co-author any discovery of a new asteroid arising from their data. For more information as well as agreement and rules of how your data will be used please see this document.