FUSE Cycle 2 Phase 1 Frequently Asked Questions

Programmatic FAQ's

• When are Phase 1 proposals due for Cycle 2?
  The proposal deadline for FUSE Cycle 2 Guest Investigator Program is July 14, 2000

• I missed the Notice of Intent deadline, can I still propose?
  Yes, the Notice of Intent (NOI) is a requested, but non-compulsory part of the proposal process. Go for it!

• Where can I get information about how to propose?
  The web-site http://fusewww.gsfc.nasa.gov contains links to all pertinent information, including the NRA.
  In particular, to receive the proposal template (a LaTeX form) and the associated style-file, please send an e-mail to: fuseprop@fusewww.gsfc.nasa.gov with the word(s) help or request templates in the "subject" line.

• May I user color figures in my proposal?
  Yes, color figures may be used in the printed proposals, since the proposer provides all the copies.

• I inserted a figure in my proposal using the \plotone commands and now the text of my proposal is centered after the figure. What should I do?
  This is a problem with the \plotone command, but we're not quite sure of why, in detail, it occurs. We suggest one of the following two workarounds:

  • (1) Place all inserted figures (using the \plotone command) at the end of the text. Note that the figures must be placed not at the end of "scientific justification" section, but literally at the end of the proposal after the Target List.

  • (2) Use the primitive \epsfbox command instead of the \plotone command. Here are some examples of how to do this:

    • (a) This is a template for inserting a figure into the text using the \epsfbox command. The \epsfxsize command can be used to adjust the scaling of the figure.
      

      \vskip 0.2in
      \noindent
      \parbox{3.5in}{\epsfxsize=4.0in \epsfbox{fig.eps}}
      \vskip 0.4in
      

      
      
    • (b) This template allows the figure caption to be placed to the right of the figure (to save space). Once again, you will have to experiment with the spacing depending on the size of your figure and caption.

      \vskip 0.2in
      \noindent
      \parbox{3.5in}{\epsfxsize=4.0in \epsfbox{fig.eps}}
      % adjust the following vskip and hskip commands to put caption to right
      % of the figure
      \vskip -2.6in
      \hskip 3.6in
      \parbox{2.6in}{Fig. 1 -- put your caption here} 
      \vskip 0.4in 
      

      
      

Technical FAQ's

• I have been attempting to compute FUSE exposure times for a very faint object using the on-line exposure tool. The exposure time tool seems to give contradictory answers in that it does give a calculated integration time for my requested S/N, but then says that the maximum achievable S/N is less, with a shorter expusure time. What's going on?
  Section 2.5 of the FUSE Data Handbook deals with sources at, or below, the background level. In the case where we know the background (and other calibrations) to infinite precision, then an observation is limited only by the combined Poisson noise of the source, background and scattered light (this is the formula given in section 3.2 of the FUSE Observer's Guide). Note that even if you know the background to infinite precision, you are still limited by the Poisson noise in the background during an observation. This is because any single observation is of finite duration and hence the background in the observation has a finite number of counts. If you intergrated for a very long time, the background in an observation would approach the infinitely well known calibration background.

  However, we do not know the "calibration" background infinitely well. Section 2.5 discusses the limiting flux assuming that there could be fluctuations in the background at the 10% level. In this case, an observation's signal-to-noise is limited not only by the Poisson noise in the background, but by the fact that the background can vary by 10% from location to location. It is this extra variation that limits the S/N for very faint objects. Even if you observed one of these sources for an infinite amount of time, you would not get a S/N of better than 10:1 because of the unknown variations in the background.

  For the vast majority of objects, the possible 10% variation in the background is inconsequential when calculating signal to noise because the background is so low. Only for the very faintest targets, those at or below the background, does the possible variation in the background make any difference.

• Who can I contact if I have questions?
  Send email to fuse_support@pha.jhu.edu.

Last changed: June 26, 2000.

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