プロポーザル募集 / Call for proposals

The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan invites proposals for the Nobeyama 45-m telescope.

The Nobeyama 45-m telescope is operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) for centimetre to millimetre wavelengths. In this call for observing proposals, we offer spectroscopic observations in 20-116 GHz bands. All telescope time, except for the student, CSV contribution and Refer-a-friend programmes will be charged (https://www.nro.nao.ac.jp/projects/45m/charge-for-the-nobeyama-45-m-telescope-time/).

Atsushi Nishimura

Director of Nobeyama Radio Observatory, a branch of National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Information on the 2026-2027 Observing Season

3000 hours are expected to be available for charged telescope time. Astronomers and researchers in the related fields (including students) are encouraged to submit proposals. We only accept proposals written in English. Although there will be no scientific review, if the total requested observing time exceeds the total available time at some LST range, the allocated time will be reduced uniformly across all proposals.

Applicants are required to refer carefully to the instructions on this web page and data sheets.

1. Charged Telescope Time (Regular) Period

From 1 November 2026 to 31 March 2027

2. Deadline

Semester 2026-B:
1 August 2026, 15:00JST [06:00UT]

This call is for Regular, Student, CSV Contribution, and Refer-a-friend programmes.

3. Facility Receivers

H22, H40, Z45, and FOREST receivers are available for all programmes.

From the 2026-B semester, the following instruments will be available under the risk-share operation mode. In the risk-share mode, NRO and instrument PIs will provide the instrument as much as possible. If it appears that the instrument has a problem, the observation PI has to change their observation plan by switching to an available receiver, and the loss of time due to risk-share instrument failure is not part of the target compensation observation time.

  • Available instruments under the risk-share mode
    • 7BEE (72–116 GHz)
    • HINOTORI TZ receiver: Only for single dish observations. VLBI mode is under commissioning and unavailable.
  • Details of the receivers will be open in mid-September. Please contact the helpdesk or the observatory via Discord for more information.

We do not offer the continuum mode for science observation. The continuum mode is only available for pointing observations. Continuum observations require on-site work. Please be sure to include a person with experience in continuum observations as a co-author, and conduct the observations with sufficient support from the experienced observer.

4. Observational Support

  • We will not provide the observation assistant or supporter. Observers should learn how to observe from the web.
  • We strongly recommend including those who have enough experience in observations with the 45 m telescope. You may find observers from the list of accepted proposals or by searching for NASA ADS with the Keyword ‘Nobeyama’.
  • Teams without experienced astronomer may request allocation of weekday daytime observation or initial weekday daytime practice time when the observatory staff is stationed.

5. Observing Sites

Observations are carried out at Nobeyama or through remote observations from NAOJ Mitaka, Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA) in Taiwan, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) in Korea, and universities/institutes in Japan*. A preliminary test is needed before your observation, even for the sites that are already established as remote operation sites.

We recommend novice users to observe at the Nobeyama site because observations using a limited number of displays and with slow network response sometimes make it harder to see the full picture of the telescope status.

6. VLBI observations

Note that a VLBI observation proposal including the Nobeyama 45-m telescope can be accepted only if the Mizusawa VLBI Observatory, NAOJ agrees to support it. Details can be obtained at the Mizusawa VLBI Observatory.

Other Notices for Applicants

H22+H40, H22+Z45Simultaneous observations of H22+H40 and H22+Z45 are offered. We note that the system temperature will be slightly higher in the simultaneous observation. Please refer to the status report (Table 1).
Dump time for On-The-Fly modeDump time for On-The-Fly mode is allowed to be not only 0.1 second but 0.04 second as well. However, there is a limit on the size of the map when using 0.04 second (30 arcmin. ≤ size ≤ 60 arcmin.). Please justify the reason why you need to be observed in 0.04 second in the proposal.
Beam Rotation AngleInclined-scan mapping from the reference coordinate is NOT allowed for observations with the FOREST receiver. For instance, users can only choose the beam rotation angle of -180, -90, 0, 90, and 180 degrees.
On-On ObservationFor the On-On observation, applicants can use Beam 1 and Beam 3 of FOREST receiver (beam separation is ∼70 arcsec) instead of the decommissioned TZ receiver.
Proprietary PeriodBy default, data obtained as part of the Nobeyama 45-m charged telescope time are subject to a proprietary period of three years starting when all the observations of each project are complete.
Effect by Automotive Millimetre-Wave RadarAutomotive millimeter-wave radar mounted on the car may cause unwanted signals at 76-77 GHz. The observatory suggests users avoid RF settings around 76–77 GHz if possible. The following PDF files represent the results of test observations of receiving automotive millimetre-wave radar emitted from different types of cars. Link 1 Link2
NRO’s policyNRO’s Policy to Exclude Military Researches. This policy applies to the charged telescope time.

Preparation and Submission

Proposal Preparation Guide:
Submission Instructions:
  • General notes:
    • Application excel form is available from the following links:
    • For both Excel forms, please name the files in the format <FirstName><LastName>_NRO45ApplicationBook... when submitting them.
      • ex1) RinYamada_NRO45ApplicationBook.charged.xlsx (In case of NRO45 Application Book – A)
      • ex2) RinYamada_NRO45ApplicationBook.free.xlsx (NRO45 Application Book – B)
    • For all programmes, the documents can be submitted to NAOJ cloud.
    • If you want to specify the “minimum required hour,” which is an acceptable compromise when allocation is reduced from the requested time, please indicate it in “Requests concerning instruments, scheduling, etc.” in the excel proposal form.
  • Notes for Student programme applicants
    • The student programme is free of charge and for students in Japanese institutes.
    • The student programme will be called only in the B semester (August deadline).
    • Applicants for free-of-charge-opportunity student proposals need to submit a two-page Scientific Justification in addition to NRO45 Application Book – B. Exceeding the page limit may result in a penalty during the review process.
    • For the Student programme, please prepare the Scientific Justification using the LaTeX form and submit it with the provided template, which can be downloaded from this link.
    • The scientific Justification document will be reviewed by some of the JSAC members.
    • You may submit another regular application, whether or not it is related to the free-of-charge application. However, even if the free-of-charge application is accepted, we will not cancel the regular application.

Instrumentation Overview

Instrumentation overview of the Nobeyama 45-m telescope is summarised in the following links:

After your application is approved

Observers who will visit Nobeyama or Mitaka need to submit web form prior to your visit. For details, please see this page. The observatory will NOT support travel expenses. We offer no service observation.

A computer account is necessary for your observations. Information on the account will be sent to the principal investigator (or the contact person).

Helpdesk

If you have any questions or requests about the open use of the Nobeyama 45-m telescope, please send them to the Helpdesk.