MOIRCS

The Update for S24A Applicants

2023-7-25

A new K-band medium-resolution grism will be available.

A new medium-resolution grism for K-band window (VB-K grism: Ebizuka et al. 2023) will be available to users from S24A. Its spectral resolution is similar to the existing VPH_K grism. But the wavelength coverage covered by >80 % grating efficiency is ~7 times wider than the existing VPH_K. Thus we can observe across all the K-band window with high efficiency. Some shortcomings of the VPH_K are also covercome. Characterization of the VB-K grism with MOIRCS will start from fall 2023. The applicants can submit the proposal based on the VPH_K performance. If our characterization is satisfactory for the open-use, we will offer the use of new grating to the awarded PIs.

MOS Mode will be available for Service Mode

A conditional access to the Multi-Object Spectroscopy (MOS) Mode for Service Program will start from S24A. The applicants of the MOS mode have to have the MOS masks that were previously-cut already (namely, this program is the promotion for the publication of old data by offering the supplement). Maximum number of the masks for service mode are 2. The use of the common-use longslit masks are not allowed.

General Notes

Please carefully read the following MOIRCS web pages before you submit proposals. If you have any questions, please contact the primary Support Astronomer (see the bottom of the page).

General Notes for the MOS Applicants

When you apply the MOS observation, you must explicitly specify the required number of MOS masks (for both the FULL and the MINIMUM number of nights) in Section 16 (Instrument Requirement) of the application form, with a clear justification for these numbers in Section 14 (Technical Justification).

The UH proposals must also follow the same rule.

The number of MOS masks will be fixed once it is assigned by TAC's critical review. See the end of the MOS observation page for the backup mask policy.

Note that the maximum number of MOS masks available for one contiguous observing period is 16. If you need to use more MOS masks for your program, please explicitly request two or more observing sessions to cope with the limit.

Preimages

You will need a FITS image of your MOS target field for mask design. If you don't have any images for the design, we recommend using the HSC SSP images (if available) or the Pan-STARRs images after converting it to the MOIRCS pixel scale (0.117/pix).

If you have a special reason to ask to take the pre-imaging data by MOIRCS ("preimage observation"), please explicitly request it (with justification) in the proposal (Technical Justification). And also, please contact the support astronomer about the execution of the preimage as soon as possible once your program is accepted.