Observing Proposal Assignment

Write an observing proposal.

Here's an example:

pdf file
if you want to use this form, here is the LaTeX file, and here is the necessary style file.

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: