Proposals should be made on the Guest Investigator Application Form (reproduced on the preceding page), and two copies should be submitted, one to Dr. Theodore P. Snow, Jr. at the Princeton University Observatory, Peyton Hall, Princeton, New Jersey 08540; and one to Mr. Donald Calahan, Code SA, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. 20546.
In general, Guest Investigator proposals which are accepted without requirement of collaboration with Princeton personnel will be limited to 24 hours of satellite observing time¹; this should be kept in mind in making proposals and in the detailed planning of the observations.
The proposal should be complete and should be written in such a way that an astronomer who is not a specialist in the area of research under discussion can understand and evaluate the merits of the proposal. It is important that a specific statement that the Guest Investigator will be able to make two trips to Princeton be included in the proposal.
Proposals which are related to ongoing or planned research by Princeton personnel may be accepted on a collaborative basis, leading in most cases to joint papers with one or more members of the Princeton staff. In some cases Princeton may wait until a final detailed proposal has been received and evaluated before deciding whether to collaborate or not.
In the past, most accepted Guest Investigator programs have dealt with stellar astronomy, the area of interstellar problems being reserved for the Princeton staff. However, proposals for the use of Copernicus to study the interstellar medium are now encouraged, although there is a high probability that collaboration with a Princeton staff member may be required.
Besides the limited computer time available for Guest Investigators at Princeton, some funds may be available through NASA for travel to and from Princeton for planning observations and reducing data, for data analysis, and for publication expenses. Applications for such support should be directed to the Program Manager (address at top of page).
All publications resulting from Guest Investigator use of Copernicus data should be identified by the following footnote to the author's name on the title page
*Guest Investigator with the Princeton University telescope on the Copernicus satellite, which is sponsored and operated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Once a Guest Investigator has used his initial 24 hours of scanning time, and has demonstrated (usually by publication) the usefulness and feasibility of his Copernicus study, he is encouraged to apply for additional observing time to continue the study. This is done by formal submission of a second proposal, which includes a discussion of the results obtained with the initial allotment of data. In order that the goals of rather extensive programs may be realized, there is no predetermined limit on the amount of scanning time which may be allocated under a second proposal, although it is requested that the proposal include a statement of what could be accomplished if only an additional 24 hours of scanning time were available. Guest Investigator programs which have been extended under this policy are denoted by an asterisk in Appendix A.
Data obtained for Guest Investigator programs are kept on file at Princeton in the form of plots and, while care is taken to insure that there is no overlap of data used in different programs, Princeton maintains a policy of allowing all Guest Investigators free access to the data files for purposes of planning observations and assessing the feasibility of their own Copernicus studies. In accordance with NASA policy, all Copernicus data are to be placed in the data center at Goddard Space Flight Center approximately one year after acquisition. Data on the first 70 stars to be observed will soon be transmitted to the center. Once data go to the Center, it is public and Princeton's allocation of data rights is superceded.