External proposals for H.E.S.S. observations

According to the H.E.S.S. MoU, external proposals from outside the H.E.S.S. collaboration will be considered along with internal proposals, to the extent that they add new aspects beyond the physics program and the lists of candidate sources discussed and documented by the H.E.S.S. physics working groups. Up to 150 scheduled observation hours per year are available in this mode.

Proposal submission: Proposals should be addressed to the secretary of the H.E.S.S. Observation Committee (E-Mail 1 or E-Mail 2). It is suggested that proposers contact the chair of the relevant H.E.S.S. physics working group to check if the object has already been observed or is on the H.E.S.S. target list. The H.E.S.S. observation program is usually defined each fall for the coming year, and proposals for the next year should normally be submitted by October 1. Typical observation times for initial observations of new targets are 10 h to at most 20 h.

Data analysis: H.E.S.S. cannot, at this time, provide analysis tools for non-experts. We suggest that data analysis be carried out in cooperation with H.E.S.S. groups. H.E.S.S. institutes may also host external scientists working on data analysis. Arrangements concerning data analysis and authorship on possible publications should normally be clarified beforehand and stated in the proposal.

Data rights are granted to the proposers for one year after data are available in Europe. After this time, the H.E.S.S. collaboration on its own may decide to publish results based on the data.

Multiwavelength campaigns. Information about planned multiwavelength campaigns is given on the HESS Multi-wavelength Working Group homepage.

Proposal tools and information about the instrument