Proposals for observing time are now invited for the 2025OCT semester for the: 

• ASKAP radio telescope;

• Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA);

• Murriyang, the CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope 

• Tidbinbilla 70-m and 34-m antennas; and

• Long Baseline Array (VLBI).

The deadline for all proposals is07:00 UT (17:00 Sydney local time) on Tuesday, 17 June 2025. 

 All proposals must be submitted using the online proposal application system, OPAL (http://opal.atnf.csiro.au/). 

 Significant changes for the 2025OCT semester are detailed here and include:

• Since February 2025, the Cryogenically Cooled Phased Array Feed (CryoPAF) has been installed in the focus cabin of Murriyang, CSIRO’s 64-m Parkes radio telescope. 

• BIGCAT commissioning is underway during 2025APR meaning that BIGCAT will be offered in shared-risk mode during the 2025OCT semester. Since the ATCA schedule for 2025APR has not yet been released, teams that wish to carry over their proposals in 2025OCT can request pre-graded status.

• ATNF proposals are fully anonymised. Proposals that reveal applicant identities will be penalised by a reduction of scores or outright rejection for blatant breaches of anonymity (e.g. self-citations where the first author is listed by name). Please check under “Proposal Guidance” below.

• We strongly encourage proposers to use thisLaTeX template for ATNF scientific justifications(with appropriate BibTeX setup to support anonymisation). 

• ATNF long-term proposals are only accepted once per year at the December deadline. As such, long-term proposals will NOT be accepted this semester.

Details of these changes and other important information on the current status of ATNF telescopes are provided at https://www.atnf.csiro.au/observers/apply/avail.html

For information on how to apply for ATNF telescope time see http://www.atnf.csiro.au/observers/apply/applications.html

For enquiries related to the proposal process or telescope availability, contact: george.hobbs@csiro.au

For problems with proposal submissions, contact atnf-opal@csiro.au

George Hobbs

ATNF Head of Science