Keck Engineering Time Allocation Committee: ETAC

The Keck ETAC determines the engineering schedule for the telescopes.

Current Engineering Schedule

Keck I Keck II

Mission:

Charge:

The ETAC will:

Proposal Process:

  1. Two months before quarter: ETAC issues call for engineering proposals
  2. Proposals submitted:
    1. Go to the observer login page
    2. If you already have an account, log in; if not, create a new account by clicking on the appropriate link.
    3. Under "Proposal Cover Sheets" click on the second link (to the right) to enter a new engineering proposal.
    4. Under "Instrument and Night Requests" click on the "select" link to the right to see all the available engineering nights.
    5. Fill out the form and click "Submit Engineering Cover Sheet" at the bottom.
    6. (Optional) Print a copy for your record.
  3. One month before quarter: ETAC publishes engineering schedule
    • The ETAC may reject proposals based on insufficient information, scheduling conflicts, significant engineering time overruns, and other reasons.
    • PI's of rejected proposals may appeal to the Observing Support Manager

Expectations:

Successful Engineering Teams will:

Appeals:

If your proposal is denied, you may appeal the decision with the Observing Support Manager.

Approximate Timeline:

Quarter Call for Proposals Proposals Due Engineering Schedule
Feb - Apr Dec 1 Dec 21 Jan 5
May - Jul Mar 1 Mar 21 Apr 5
Aug - Oct Jun 1 Jun 21 Jul 5
Nov - Jan Sep 1 Sep 21 Oct 5

Background:

A percentage of night observing time is set aside in each semester's schedule for engineering use. The engineering time is used for development projects and testing of the Keck telescope and instrument systems. The time is reserved for tests that require the night sky and/or stellar point sources. Since the demand for Keck time for both science and engineering observations is ever increasing, a process has been developed to help facilitate the planning, executing, analyzing data, and reporting the engineering experiments. The process of reviewing time requests, scheduling, and posting the results is facilitated by the engineering time allocation committee, E-TAC. This is based on the example of how science observing time is parsed out by the TACs of the various institutions.

Members:

Chair, Jim Lyke: Support Astronomer
Carolyn Jordan: Lead Observing Assistant
Randy Campbell: Science Operations Lead

Legacy Info:

Pre-2013 Web Page

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