European VLBI Network Newsletter Number 13   January 2006

1. Call for Proposals - Deadline 1 February  2006

Observing proposals are invited for the EVN, a VLBI network of radio telescopes spread throughout Europe and beyond, operated by an  international Consortium of institutes ( http://www.evlbi.org/).
The EVN is open to all astronomers. Use of the Network by astronomers not specialised in the VLBI technique is encouraged.
The Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE) can provide support and advice on project preparation, scheduling, correlation and analysis.  See EVN User Support at http://www.jive.nl.

Proposals received by 1 February 2006 will be considered for scheduling in Session 2, 2006 or later. Finalisation of the planned observing wavelengths will depend on proposal pressure. Other wavelengths which may be scheduled in 2006 are: 50cm and 7mm.

Special features for Sessions in 2006
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• Proposals at 30 cm and 1.3 cm are encouraged as these frequencies are likely to be available in Session 2 (30 cm) and Session 3 (1.3 cm).
• 90 cm observing is foreseen in Session 3. Note that the next 2-3 years will provide favorable conditions for low-frequency phase-referencing as we are headed into the solar minimum.
• Recording at 1 Gb/s (Mark 5A) is now possible for an increasing number of projects. It is planned that this will become soon the standard observing mode for all continuum EVN-only projects.
• MERLIN will be available for joint EVN+MERLIN observations in all sessions from Session 2 onwards, for any EVN wavelengths which MERLIN supports (18/21cm, 6cm, 5cm, 1.3cm)
  

Large projects
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Most proposals request 12-48hrs observing time. The EVN Program Committee (PC) also encourages larger projects (>48 hrs); these will be subject to more detailed scrutiny, and the EVN PC may, in some cases, attach conditions on the release of the data.

How to submit
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Complete a coversheet and attach a scientific justification (maximum 2 pages). Up to 2 additional pages with diagrams may be included; the total, including cover sheet, should not exceed 6 pages.

Submit to: Richard Porcas, EVN Scheduler, MPIfR, Auf dem Huegel 69, D 53121 BONN, GERMANY or by email to: proposevn@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de.

Additional information
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The detailed "Call for Proposals" has further information on Global VLBI, EVN+MERLIN and guidelines for proposal submission: see http://www.obs.u-bordeaux1.fr/vlbi/EVN/call-long.html.

The EVN User Guide (http://www.evlbi.org/user_guide/user_guide.html) describes the network and provides general information on its capabilities.

The EVN Status Table (http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/EVN/EVNstatus.txt) gives current antenna capabilities.

The On-line VLBI catalogue (http://db.ira.cnr.it/evn//) lists sources observed by the EVN and Global VLBI.
 

2. Jobs becoming available at JIVE or EVN institutes

3. Next Generation VLBI Correlator Workshop at JIVE

This year JIVE will host a workshop titled "Next Generation VLBI Correlators".

The venue will be in the city of Groningen, the Netherlands, from the  27th to the 29th of June. The workshop will be partially funded by  the FP6 RadioNet.

More information will appear soon on the RadioNet wiki & JIVE web pages. A special announcement will also be sent out to the VLBI exploders.  
 
 Arpad Szomoru (JIVE)

3. NAOC joins JIVE! 

In January 2006, the National Astronomical Observatory of China (NAOC) officially joined JIVE - as a funding partner. This represents an important step forward for all parties, and emphasises the signifcant and growing contribution that the Chinese VLBI community is making to the EVN.

The bilateral agreement between JIVE and the NAOC runs for the next 3 years - the signing ceremony took place at the recent JIVE board meeting at the MPIfR, Bonn (see Figure X). This was also the last JIVE Board meeting for Roy Booth. Roy has served as a distinguished member on the board since JIVE was founded in 1993 and was its first chairman (1994-1999).

The signing formalities were concluded with a glass (or two) of Champagne!

Hong Xiaoyu (ShAO)
Michael Garrett (JIVE)