Early Science Observations on COLIBRÍ for 2026A

Early Science Observations on COLIBRÍ for 2026A

Deadline: November 17, 2025 at 12h (CET).
Period 2026A: March 1, 2026 to August 31, 2026.

How to Request Early Science Observations

French proposers are invited to prepare and submit a proposal not exceeding three pages in length (PDF format):

  • Each proposal should include a title and a contact point.
  • Two pages should be devoted to a scientific description, providing sufficient context to understand the scientific objectives.
  • The third page should include a technical description, specifying target coordinates, exposure times, filter sequences, and any required cadences or repetitions.
  • Additional pages may be included only for figures or tables, if necessary.

Certain targets are reserved for the COLIBRÍ Consortium under guaranteed time — including the follow-up of transients detected by SVOM, Swift, and Einstein Probe, as well as selected FRBs, TDEs, and similar events. In case of doubt, proposers are encouraged to contact the COLIBRÍ Principal Investigator, Dr. Stéphane Basa (stephane.basa_AT_lam.fr), for clarification.

Both individuals and research groups may submit requests. Each proposal must clearly designate a single technical contact person, providing their name and email address. All correspondence will be conducted with this contact.

Completed requests should be sent directly to the COLIBRÍ PI (stephane.basa_AT_lam.fr). The proposals will then be reviewed by a scientific committee, which may contact the designated technical correspondent prior to the observations in order to request clarification or make recommendations.

In accordance with the COLIBRÍ Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), all proposals and resulting data will be treated with strict professional confidentiality. The Science Operations Team may inspect the data to assess quality and characterize the instrument, but no data will be shared outside the Science Operations and Instrument Teams.

There is no requirement to include members of the Science Operations Team as co-authors on resulting publications. However, all publications should cite the relevant telescope and instrument papers and acknowledge COLIBRÍ, as described in the Observing Manual (link below).

Observations

The DDRAGO instrument is currently operating as a two-channels imager with a 26-arcminute field of view, 0.38 arcsecond pixels, and the following filters:

  • Blue arm: B, g, r, i, gri
  • Red arm: y, z, zy

The transients team typically uses 60-second exposures, applying random dithers within a 1-arcminute diameter circle, which provides a good balance between efficiency and sky depth.
Alternative observing strategies are welcome — one of the main goals of this shared-risk phase is to allow observers to explore optimal strategies for their science and share their feedback with the team.

We aim to keep individual observing blocks to no more than 30 minutes of real time (i.e., 24 × 60-second exposures plus overheads). If more data are needed, proposers are encouraged to schedule repeated blocks.

A simple exposure time estimator is here.

A preliminary observing manual is here This manual will be updated as the instrument is commissioned.

Terms of use