Duplicate Observations

In order to ensure the most efficient use of ALMA, duplicate observations of the same location on the sky with similar observing parameters (frequency, angular resolution, coverage, and sensitivity) are not permitted unless scientifically justified. Details on the duplication policy are provided in Section 4.4 of the Cycle 11 Proposer's Guide and Section 6.3 of the Users' Policies. It is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator (PI) to check their proposed observations against both the ALMA Archive and the spreadsheet provided below to avoid duplicate observations.

The ALMA Archive contains an up-to-date list of the PI science observations, including Cycle 10 programs that have been started or completed. The spreadsheet "Projects in the Queue” supplements the ALMA archive in that it lists the metadata for Grade A main array science goals, as well as Grade A ACA standalone science goals that have not been completed as of 2024 March 07 and are still in the observing queue. The spreadsheet lists the sensitivity and angular resolution that are expected to be achieved assuming the observations are completed in full. Observations for Grade B and C projects that have not been started by 2024 March 07 will not be used in the duplication checks conducted by ALMA even if observations are obtained later in Cycle 10.

The ongoing list of observations is provided in both Excel Workbook (xlsx) and Comma Separated Variable (CSV) text format. It includes one row for each target, rectangular mosaic, or each pointing in custom mosaics. The spreadsheet content is described at the beginning of the file, and includes target names, coordinates, properties of each spectral window, along with the resolution and sensitivity requested by the PI. A link is provided to a user-contributed python script, which contains functions to search, plot, and display source information contained in the list of ongoing observations. Instructions on how to run the script are provided in the script header. The script is made available on an "as-is" basis for convenience and is not supported by the ALMA Regional Centers (ARCs).