Director's Discretionary Time ('Green Time') on ATNF telescopes

Each semester approximately 5 - 10% of time is initially unallocated at the Parkes and Narrabri observatories and this is designated as Director's Discretionary Time or 'Green Time' from the colour adopted on the schedules. This time arises from short gaps between scheduled observations and from some longer slots that are set aside for more strategic use such as for NAPA observations and replacing lost time.

Observers who wish to apply for Director's/Green Time should initially send an email to the ATNF alert distribution list (alert(at)atnf.csiro.au), which will reach Jamie Stevens for the ATCA, or Jane Kaczmarek for Murriyang. This email should include a brief justification for the time requested, no more than an A4 page. You should also make a booking in the respective PORTAL system to make it easy for the request to be approved.

Wherever possible please provide at least two weeks notice for the time requested. Because of other constraints, Director's/Green time at the telescopes is not normally allocated more than a week before the available time.

In general Director's/Green Time is allocated using the following set of priorities:

1. The ATNF Director's discretion, and an allocation reserved in advance
2. Telescope tests and repairs (other than routine maintenance),
3. Target of opportunity and NAPA observations, especially those with simultaneous multi-wavelength observations,
4. Observations by staff astronomers,
5. Requests for additional time and other requests

Please check the the ATNF archive databases for previous observations before requesting Director's time. While we do not allow claim staking, and observations of the same source by multiple projects is allowed, it may be that data already acquired may be suitable for your science.

Last updated: 9-jan-2024 (Jamie Stevens)