Observing Proposal Assignment
Write an observing proposal.
Here's an example:
It should have the
following structure:
Cover Page (one page maximum):
- Your name and contact information
- An abstract describing your science
- A summary of the observations: how many nights, what time of
year, what telescope/detector
Scientific Justification (two pages maximum and, in practice, two
pages
minimum. If you're writing less than this, you're probably not being
thorough.):
- Explain the background: why the science is important, what we
want to learn.
- Pose a scientific question that you are trying to answer.
- Explain how the observations you propose will answer your
question. What will you do with the data?
- Remember that your audience is astronomers, but not
necessarily a
specialist in your field. You may be explaining quasar
spectroscopy to
somebody who images planetary nebulae for a living, for example.
So you
need to convince them that your science is interesting.
- PROPER ACADEMIC REFERENCING IS REQUIRED. Poor referencing
practices is a sure sign of a poorly written or poorly
researched
project. See the example proposal.
Figures and References (a page or two max):
- Your reference list is not part of your justification.
- Its often helpful to have a couple of figures which illustrate
the particular point you are trying to get across. Examples of
data
already taken (by you or others), plots that show a relationship
you
are trying to test, etc.
Technical Description of Observations (one page):
- Description of the object you are observing (size, magnitude,
etc). If you have a large sample of objects, give some
characteristic
examples.
- Explanation of why you chose the telescope set-up you did. You
want to convince the reviewer that you have thought hard about
picking
the best choice -- asking for 4m time when the project can be
done with the 36" is a bad idea!
- Your technical description does not need to be ANYWHERE NEAR
as
technical as what's in the example!
Notes:
- Writing, spelling, grammar, formatting ALL COUNT. Pay
attention
to detail. Proofread, spell-check, etc. A sloppily written
proposal
will get tanked in the review process!
- The proposal should be word-processed, not handwritten, and it
should be single-spaced. It should look like the example!
- Your proposal will not only be graded by me, but also
"peer-reviewed" by your classmates.
Observing Setups: