Q1: Where are the Webb Office Hours procedures and guidelines?
A1: Webb Office Hours. Type your question into the WebEx chat. We will asynchronously copy questions from the chat to this main page and work through them as a group. If you have images to share please give WebEx permission to share your screen (you may need to log out and log back in again to enable this feature.)
Q2: I'm working on an exoplanet transit proposal with MIRI. I know that we need to specify the overall phase under special requirements in the APT file, but does that also need to be listed in the proposal PDF under special requirements? Or is it assumed?
A2: You should include it in both the proposal and the APT file. Just put in the special requirements section that you will need a phase constraint and that should be sufficient.
Q3.1: If we’re trying to coordinate with a ground-based optical observatory that isn't listed in APT, how do we request that? e.g., I want to coordinate with Las Cumbres Observatory Network.
A3.1: Note in the scientific justification that a coordinated observation with them is required (provide as much info as you can on what is needed), and note the coordination in the APT file, as well. For coordinated observations, we don't really have a special requirement for them. Once a proposal is accepted, a program coordinator (PC) is assigned and the PC team will contact the other observatory to coordinate the observations and make sure they're scheduled appropriately. So, it should be sufficient to put it in the proposal section with the degree of coordination needed (e.g., if it's simultaneous or not).
Q3.2: It would be simultaneous. There are a lot of transit opportunities for these observations. Do I need to figure out when those transits would occur and list them, or is it sufficient to say that we'll work with the PC to schedule this with the ground-based observatory? How do we coordinate with observatories that aren't in the STScI network?
A3.2: When you input phase constraints in APT, it will give the PC all transits available for the target. So, based on scheduling restrictions for the other observatory, the PC will coordinate with the other observatory to find a time that works for them. Coordinating with other observatories out of the network has been done in the past, but it might be a good idea to just confirm via a help desk ticket (using the APT category).
Q4: I have a related question: suppose we have preferred access to a famous observatory. How do we communicate that in the proposal without violating the dual anonymous structure?
A4: Submit this to the science policy category as a help desk question, because we don't want to provide incorrect advice.
Q5: I was looking for help on some jupyter notebooks that I'm tyring to use for developing my proposal, but I'm using them with HST data and they don't work. I submitted a ticket to the HST help desk, but they haven't responded.
A5: Send us the incident number and we will check on the status.
Q6: Is there a PSF tool for MIRI so I can simulate what the PSF would be for a given target?
A6: Yes, you can use WebbPSF: https://webbpsf.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ There's also a JWebbinar (number 34) on WebbPSF that may be helpful: https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/science-execution/jwebbinars.
Q7: I'm curious if it's technically feasible to use the coronagraph while using MIRI LRS for TSO.
A7: This would be a good help desk question. Proposers can submit calibration programs for non-standard configurations, but it's too late to do that now. If you have a good idea for a configuration that would be useful for the community as a calibration proposal, you have to submit that 2 weeks before the proposal deadline so there is time to work with the instrument team to make sure it won't break anything, that it's useful, that no one else is doing it, etc.
Q8: Is the latest version of pandexo the current live version? I'm using this link: https://exoctk.stsci.edu/pandexo/calculation/new
A8: The ETC is up-to-date (version 4.0) but Pandexo is not. The intent was to update Pandexo for the Cycle 4 Call for Proposals, but they had to make some changes to accommodate a new NIRCam capability that didn't make it in time for the Cycle 4 call. So, you should use the ETC for the most up-to-date throughputs and sensitivities, but Pandexo is not synched with that version and is still using the ETC engine from Cycle 3.
Q9: If I want to do multi-observatory in APT, there's a checkbox for it, but I assume that only applies if we're trying to use the listed telescopes. Do I still check that box for observatories outside the network?
A9: Submit this to the APT category in the help desk and we will get back to you.