GSFC XMM-Newton GOF Status Report #066: XMM-NEWTON NEWS #30

[Michael Arida <arida@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov>]

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_/                 XMM-NEWTON NEWS #30   ---    17-Mar-2003                 _/
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                ESA, XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre at
            Villafranca del Castillo, Satellite Tracking Station
                P.O. Box - Apdo. 50727, 28080 Madrid, Spain

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XMM-Newton Announcement of Opportunity (AO-3)
=============================================

Dear Colleague,

I am very pleased to invite you to respond to the 3rd "Announcement of
Opportunity" to submit proposals for observations to be performed with the
XMM-Newton observatory.

XMM-Newton is the second cornerstone of ESA's Horizon 2000 Science Programme.
It was launched by an Ariane 5 launcher on the 10th of December 1999 and
offers astronomers a unique opportunity to perform high throughput
non-dispersive spectroscopic imaging in the energy range from 0.3 keV to
12 keV (European Photon Imaging Camera; EPIC) and medium resolution dispersive
spectroscopy (Reflection Grating Spectrometer; RGS) in the energy range from
0.4 keV to 2.2 keV. In addition it provides simultaneous optical/UV
observations with a co-aligned telescope (Optical Monitor; OM).

This Announcement solicits proposals to be carried out in the period from
December 2003 to March 2005. Proposers from all over the world are welcome to
participate. All proposals will be subject to independent peer review by the
XMM-Newton Observing Time Allocation Committee (OTAC). Potential proposers
are expected to prepare and submit proposals in electronic form, by the
deadline given below, using the XMM-Newton Remote Proposal Submission (RPS)
software.

The documentation for this Announcement is available via the internet at:

     http://xmm.vilspa.esa.es/external/xmm_science/AO3/index.shtml

The appendix to this announcement lists the relevant documents and explains
in detail how to access them. I would appreciate it if you would distribute
the attached information at your home institute.

The key milestones for this Announcement are:

Announcement of Opportunity     17 March 2003
Due date for Proposals          30 April 2003 (12:00 UT)
Final OTAC approved programme   early July 2003

I invite you to submit your proposals and wish you success in using the
XMM-Newton observatory.

Yours sincerely,

Prof. D. Southwood
Director
ESA Scientific Programme.

Appendix: Overview of Documentation
-----------------------------------

This appendix outlines the content of each of the documents associated with
X-ray Multi-mirror Mission's (XMM-Newton) Announcement of Opportunity.

XMM-Newton Announcement of Opportunity: This letter from the Director of
    ESA's Scientific Programme is the formal Announcement of Opportunity to
    apply for XMM-Newton observing time.

XMM-Newton Announcement of Opportunity - Policies and Procedures: This is the
    "administrative" document of the Announcement, providing all necessary
    information about the policies adopted and the procedures to be followed.

XMM-Newton Users' Handbook: This gives a description of the satellite and its
    instruments, followed by detailed information on how to observe with
    XMM-Newton. For each of the three scientific instruments on board
    XMM-Newton (EPIC, RGS and OM) detailed information sufficient to calculate
    the necessary observing times is provided.

Lists of observations performed and planned: These lists provide information
    on XMM-Newton observations that have already been performed since the
    launch of the mission, and observations that have been approved, but not
    yet performed. The usage of this information is explained in the above
    mentioned 'Policies and Procedures' document.

XMM-Newton Remote Proposal Submission Users Manual: This document explains how
    to use the (revised) XMM-Newton Remote Proposal Submission system (RPS).

The documents listed above can be read (and downloaded) through the World Wide
Web on the XMM-Newton Public Server located at VILSPA, at the URL:

    http://xmm.vilspa.esa.es/

and can also be retrieved generally as postscript files from the XMM-Newton/
VILSPA ftp server. Proposers should use ftp to access "xmm.vilspa.esa.es",
then, log in as "anonymous" and give their e-mail address as password. Type
"cd pub/AO3" to go to the directory containing the relevant files. The desired
files can then be copied by typing "get filename" after issuing the "binary"
command.

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