Past Announcements in 2022

The upcoming online workshop "Signatures of AGN Feedback: The Post-SOFIA Era" on October 20, will present recent impactful observational results on AGN feedback from SOFIA observations, and offer the opportunity for AGN observers to discuss the current status and future approaches for IR AGN research. Topics include the status of MHD modeling of AGN feedback, infrared observations of feedback signatures such as galactic winds, shocks and turbulence, magnetic field structure, and AGN-induced star formation. A panel discussion will focus on the role of IR studies in the current observational landscape.

SOFIA is pleased to invite proposals for SOFIA Archival Research Programs (SARP), aimed at encouraging the use of SOFIA archival observations for impactful science.

This program will fund archival research projects primarily using SOFIA data to encourage the use of available SOFIA archival data in the Infrared Science Archive (IRSA). Two distinct types of proposals for the archival research program are solicited in this round:

• Regular Proposals - Large programs funded at up to $175,000 per year, or more in exceptional cases. Regular Proposals may request funds for up to two years.
• Small Proposals - Targeted programs funded at up to $50,000-$75,000. Small Proposals may request funds for up to one year.

This call is open to all qualified astronomers affiliated with a U.S. institution, and complements the Astrophysics Data Analysis Program (ADAP) under the NASA Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) solicitation. Proposals are due July 8, 2022. Learn more here.

We are pleased to confirm that the SOFIA/ALMA sponsored conference “Our Galactic Ecosystem: Opportunities and Diagnostics in the Infrared and Beyond” at the UCLA Lake Arrowhead Lodge is going ahead, as planned, as an in-person event, with a late registration deadline on Feb 14.

While virtual meetings can be very valuable – as exemplified by the three well-attended SOFIA virtual workshops held over 2021 - we feel that they cannot fully replace in-person events. We are therefore, after significant consultation within the SOFIA Science Center, with the USRA and ALMA sponsors and with NASA, proceeding with the Lake Arrowhead meeting.

However, in consideration of the Covid-19 situation, we have adjusted both our meeting protocol and the timeline for registration and abstract submission.

We are reassured that the California caseload (as tracked by the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center) is, as of Jan 18, coming down significantly, indicating that the situation will be significantly improved by late February.

We have defined a comprehensive Covid protocol which in addition to vaccination and masking requirements also now includes a requirement of a negative Covid-19 test before the participants leave their home. We will also have Covid tests available at the meeting site to test any participant showing potential symptoms of the disease. Our complete Covid-19 protocol can be found here. U.S. residents can order free test kits here.

Because of the uncertainty in these last few weeks, we are leaving the registration and abstract submission open for the meeting until the late registration deadline on Feb 14. The SOC is finalizing the conference program, and after this schedule has been filled all new abstracts will be assigned to posters.

We thank you (invited speakers, registered participants and potential attendees) for your patience and we look forward to seeing you in the beautiful San Bernardino mountains.

The SOFIA project is pleased to invite proposals for a "Flash Call", for Director's Discretionary Time (DDT) observations with the FIFI-LS instrument in a celestial region, to be observed in the March 2022 Suitcase Deployment to Chile. The available sky area is approximately spanned by: RA=11h - 15h and Dec= -5˚ - +25˚.

A total of ~14h of observing time is available.

The region available corresponds to extended "dead legs" late in the flight plans focused on observations of the 30 Doradus Legacy program, and will thus generally correspond to high flight altitudes.

All advertised modes of FIFI-LS are available for these observations.

Scientific observations with the FPI+ guide camera are also possible.

Proposals should be submitted through the USPOT tool to "Cycle 75", using the proposal process for Director's Discretionary Time observations. The Observers Handbook details properties of FIFI-LS.

Please note that the ingest of Cycle 10 proposals is active during this period.  Proposers are therefore urged to verify that these proposals are submitted to Cycle 75 and not to Cycle 10.

Proposals are due on Jan 21, 2022, 9 pm PST. The proposals will be evaluated though an abbreviated, dual anonymous, review process. Proposers are therefore reminded to anonymize their texts accordingly.  Selections are expected to be announced by the week of January 31.

Questions about the call or proposals can be addressed to the SOFIA Help desk: sofia_help@sofia.usra.edu.

The SOFIA project is pleased to invite proposals for a "Flash Call", for Director's Discretionary Time (DDT) observations with the FORCAST instrument in two celestial regions, to be observed in the week of February 14, 2022. The two available sky areas are approximately centered on: RA, Dec: {5h, 85˚} and {17h, +5˚}, (with significant extent in the SOFIA elevation direction. A total of up to ~3h of observing time is available in the first area with ~4h of observing time in the second sky area. For the first area all FORCAST instrument modes are available, while for the second area, only LWC observations (imaging or spectroscopy) are available.

Proposals should be submitted through the USPOT tool, using the proposal process for Director's Discretionary Time observations. The Observer's Handbook details properties of FORCAST.

Proposals are due on Jan 9, 2022, 9 pm PST. The proposals will be evaluated though an abbreviated, dual anonymous, review process. Proposers are therefore reminded to anonymize their texts accordingly. Selections are expected to be announced by the week of January 17.

More information is available here. Questions about the call or proposals can be addressed to the SOFIA Help desk: sofia_help@sofia.usra.edu.