Cassiopeia Newsletter – Autumn Solstice 2026
In this issue:
Canadian Gemini Office News
CFHT News and Updates
CASTOR Update
ALMA Matters
PRIMA Update
Editor: Dennis Crabtree
Cassiopeia is CASCA’s quarterly Newsletter, published on or near the solstices and equinoxes (March 21, June 21, September 21 and December 21).
To submit a contribution please email cassiopeia.editors@gmail.com. All submissions must be received by the due date (usually 2 weeks in advance of publication) to be published in the next edition. I accept plain text and Word documents. Note that the formatting of your document will not be preserved. Please include any images as attachments in your email, not embedded in the text. Please include URLs in parentheses next to the word or phrase that you wish to act as link anchors.
Canadian Gemini Office News
By Eric Steinbring (Canadian Gemini Office, National Research Council Herzberg Astronomy & Astrophysics)
Time to Propose for Gemini (and Subaru and AEON) Time
The 2027A Call for Proposals for Gemini is out now, and for this semester Canada has 161 hours on North and 152 hours on South available, after subtracting time for ongoing Large and Long Programs (LLP: 20% of our share) and Fast Turnaround (FT: 10%). Both of those latter modes are well-represented by Canadian PIs, and consistently use-up our nominal, 80%-fraction of (good-condition) time. And, actually, Canadian PIs in the last couple semesters have had a >50% proposal success-fraction in FT, among the highest of all participating partners. Well done, eh! Note that the FT deadline is always the last day of each month, at noon Hawai'i time. But the upcoming 2027A CfP deadline for Canadian PIs is intead on 1 October, at 4PM Pacific Standard Time (5PM Mountain, 6PM Central, 7PM Eastern and 7:30 PM in Newfoundland) as the previous day is our National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. See the CfP information at: https://nrc.canada.ca/en/research-development/products-services/technical-advisory-services/gemini-canadian-specific-information-phase-i.
It bears repeating now that submissions to both the Gemini regular-semester CfP and the LLP CfP can access Subaru resources using their Exchange Time agreement. And also just to remind everyone that resources from the Astrononical Event Observatory Network (AEON: https://noirlab.edu/science/observing-noirlab/aeon) such as the SOAR and CTIO Blanco 4-m telescopes can be requested as well, in the same regular CfP, which perhaps will become most useful to those focussed on time-domain science, now with Rubin coming online. Typically, CanTAC receives about 6 or so Target of Opportunity (ToO) requests. Although, as always, your friendly CGO staff is available to help: also now serving as Primary-Contact support to FT and (the much less urgent) Poor-Weather (PW) programs. That last one is requestable via the same form as regular-semester proposals, and at any time. The only other Gemini observing mode - but that Canadian PIs do not historically make much use of - is Directors' Discretionary (DD) time. However, that is requestable anytime. Go ahead. Finally, note that a new, related initiative to make good use of this DD time is the "Once in Rubin Gem" program; see: https://www.gemini.edu/observing/phase-i-proposing-time/dd-initiatives.
Other NOIRLab Resources and Information Available to You
Perhaps a useful resource to find out what is available, or on the way from NOIRLab, is the bi-annual Mirror newsletter. Also, the Gemini-specific e-News. You can actually subscribe to those instead on that page, to have these automatically e-mailed to you! Coming up, the US National Gemini Office (US NGO) in Tucson is hosting another set of DRAGONS data-reduction webinars, offered as two sessions (of the same content) to cover different timezones. The first session is on 6 October at 10 AM Mountain time (see above to convert to your local timezone), and the second session on 7 October at 6 PM Mountain (perhaps handy for Eastern nightowls). Sign up here: https://forms.gle/HwPz6CqbTCdqFLyY7 – and they will send you the Zoom details.
CFHT News and Updates
By Nadine Manset (Director of Science Operations) on behalf of the CFHT ‘ohana
Recently
A few weeks ago, Kara Dumaguin, Director of Community Relations at CFHT, Kenika Lorenzo-Elarco from the W. M. Keck Observatory, and Leinani Lozi from the Gemini Observatory presented at the 2026 Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference. This event brings together kanaka, conservation practitioners, community members, and others working in relationship with Hawaiʻi's ʻāina and natural and cultural resources.
More than 150 people attended their presentation, titled "Culture and Mutual Stewardship in Astronomy on Maunakea," which discussed how institutional culture shapes the way stewardship is understood and practiced within astronomy organizations on Maunakea, supported by examples from each of the speakers' observatories. They discussed how relationships, cultural learning, community engagement, and internal practices can help move institutions beyond compliance toward deeper responsibility and relationship with place.
Soon
Wenaokeao, the optomechanical interface that will enable SPIRou and ESPaDOnS to be installed simultaneously at the Cassegrain focus of the telescope, has arrived! Integration at the telescope has now begun and will proceed in several stages over the coming months.
Following the final meeting of the Community Survey Working Group in August, the group’s report and recommendations were submitted to the SAC and the Board for consideration. Once the selection of work packages has been approved and confirmed, the proposing teams will be notified of the outcome. Shortly thereafter, and as early as possible in October, a Steering Group will be established to begin the survey design process.
Challenges
Our decades-old crane, which is used for instrument exchanges, underwent repairs and upgrades in August and September. Unfortunately, the work was delayed and complicated by both procurement and technical issues. Once the crane had been successfully serviced and upgraded, the handling ring used to grip and position the various upper ends (MegaCam, WIRCam, and F8) failed. As a result, one WIRCam run and two SPIRou runs have been canceled to date. The QSO Team has been making the best possible use of the available dark, grey, and bright time on MegaCam.
In September, a cybersecurity incident required the CFHT website to be taken offline. The IT group is working steadily to restore the website in a secure manner.
CASTOR Update
by Tyrone Woods (University of Manitoba), Patrick Côté (NRC-Herzberg)
CASTOR at National and International Meetings
The CASTOR townhall at CASCA 2026 welcomed the unified message from the National Research Council and the Canadian Space Agency regarding the critical nature of the CASTOR mission for Canadian Astronomy, and in particular the need for an imminent Phase A+ study. A detailed plan for an 18- to 24-month study was presented, including significant breadboarding and prototyping activities needed to reduce technical risk and refine cost estimates for subsequent phases (B-E) in order to deliver a firm fixed price for the mission.
The CASTOR mission was well-represented and very well received at the SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2026 meeting in Copenhagen, July 5-10, 2026. This included a new overview of the mission concept, the supporting software suite, the VUV Lab, the prototype optical ground station in Inuvik, and supporting simulation work on the UVMOS and associated DMD performance.
CASTOR’s grism capabilities were featured in a tutorial by Gaël Noirot at the recent “Surveying the Universe in 4D: Beating Cosmic Variance with Wide-Field Slit-less Spectroscopy from HST, JWST, Euclid, Roman, and Beyond” meeting in Baltimore (August 24-28)
A further update on the CASTOR mission will also be given at the upcoming Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI) meeting in Winnipeg, October 14-16.
UVMOS Prototyping
The NRC-led “Small Teams” project to prototype a DMD-based UV Multi-Object Spectrograph (UVMOS) for CASTOR continues to make steady progress. Several subsystems (detectors, DMD control electronics and re-windowing, UV coatings and gratings) have begun undergoing bench tests since the last update, with the aim of evaluating the performance and ensuring the reliability of the chosen technologies. The project is on track for assembly of the prototype to begin in 2027.
Detector Testing
Testing and characterization of large-format, delta-doped CMOS devices for the CASTOR mission continues at HAA and the University of Calgary. This project represents a long-term collaboration between NRC, JPL, Teledyne-e2v, Open University, UCalgary, UManitoba and CSA. As support of this effort, the Vacuum UV Calibration Laboratory at the University of Calgary has been significantly upgraded to enable tests of key detector properties, and a new nitrogen chamber test facility will come online at HAA in 2027.
Optical Telescope / Ground Station
The gravel bed foundation and shielded cabling for power and comms have been laid at the Inuvik Satellite Station Facility (ISSF) in Inuvik, NWT, for an hybrid optical telescope / ground station in the high arctic led by the University of Manitoba. This new observatory will offer twin 45cm optical telescopes and act as both a research telescope and an optical ground station prototype for CASTOR, with construction expected to be complete in early 2027. For more information, contact Tyrone Woods (Tyrone.Woods@umanitoba.ca) or Ryan Wierckx (wierckx1@myumanitoba.ca).
FORECASTOR Tools
A new “Scene” building utility has been added to the Exposure Time Calculator and is available now, as well as additional tools for planning studies of M dwarf flaring, exoplanet transits, and galaxy spectral modelling for large surveys with CASTOR.
Lobbying Efforts
The Coalition for Canadian Astronomy is continuing its efforts to secure approval and funding of the CASTOR mission, including an NRC-led Phase A+ study (in collaboration with CSA). This has included pre-Budget submissions to the House Finance Committee and the Department of Finance, as well as formal and informal communications with the House Standing Committee on Science and Research and other members of government.
For more information on the mission, see https://www.castormission.org
ALMA Matters
By Brenda Matthews & Gerald Schieven
Cycle 13 ALMA Ambassador Events
NRAO’s ALMA Ambassador Program will be holding events throughout October on data processing and proposal preparation workshops in March of 2027.
The dates and locations of the workshops are summarized on the Community Outreach Events page: https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/alma/community .
Many of these are in person and virtual, including those hosted by the sole Canadian-university based Ambassador this cycle, Woorak Choi of McMaster University.
ALMA Ambassadors Program for Cycle 14 is open
Note that researchers at Canadian institutions are welcome to apply to the ALMA Ambassadors Program.
The NAASC is accepting applications for the ALMA Ambassadors Program (URL: https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/facilities/alma/ambassadors-program), with a deadline of October 2, 2026. The program provides training and up to a $10,000 USD research grant (other forms of payment are available, see the ALMA Ambassadors website URL: https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/facilities/alma/ambassadors-program) to postdoctoral researchers, senior graduate students, and early career researchers interested in expanding their ALMA/radio interferometry expertise and sharing that knowledge with their home (or other) institutions. For Cycle 14, ALMA Ambassadors can choose to support the community by organizing and hosting (1) ALMA Cycle 14 proposal preparation support workshops (Spring 2027), and/or (2) ALMA-focused data processing and analysis workshops (Fall 2027). Applications seeking to host both proposal preparation and data processing workshops will be favored.
Some radio or submillimeter interferometry experience is preferred but not required. Applicants must be based at a North American institution. If you do not meet these requirements but are interested in learning more about the training we are offering, please contact Arielle Moullet (mailto: almaambassadors@nrao.edu) to discuss opportunities. We will consider both individual and coordinated applications from users in the same institution or region. For more information, please visit the ALMA Ambassadors website.
ALMA @ 15 Years - February 22-26 2027 in Taipei, Taiwan
Marking the 15th anniversary of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), this conference celebrates a decade and a half of transformative discoveries in astronomy and astrophysics. It will highlight ALMA's latest results, especially since the last Pan-ALMA conference held in 2023, and identify exciting directions for future ALMA research.
The program will feature invited and contributed science presentations, along with updates on the Wideband Sensitivity Upgrade (WSU), tutorial sessions on the archival and CARTA systems, and discussions of future ALMA prospects. Talks and posters presenting scientific work using ALMA and/or its synergies with other facilities across all areas of astronomy are welcome.
The conference will be held at the Humanities and Social Sciences Building at Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan, February 22-26, 2027. Registration deadline is November 27, 2026. See 2027alma.org (URL: 2027alma.org) for further information.
Cycle 13 Proposal Statistics for Canada
Proposers from Canadian institutions did well again in Cycle 13. Canadian PI proposals had a success rate of over 13% for A- and B-ranked proposals compared to our nominal 7.125% share of the North American share of ALMA. Proposals which had at least one Canadian as PI or Co-I were allocated more than 20% of the global time allocated for A- and B-ranked proposals. These numbers are roughly similar to those from Cycle 12, which was also a banner year for Canadian researchers.
Summer 2026 PRIMA update
by Locke Spencer, Doug Johnstone, David Naylor
There has been some exciting PRIMA developments since the June 2026 update.
Following the May 2026 mission review site visit, the NASA Associate Administrator review of the PRIMA Concept Study Report (CSR) took place on July 30, 2026. The PRIMA team presented and responded to questions from the NASA Science Mission Directorate Associate Administrator, the Astrophysics Division Director, and the chair, co-chair, and some members of the CSR review team. This was the final step involving the PRIMA team ahead of a NASA decision on the probe mission call. While the PRIMA team felt very positive about this step and the feedback received, there has not yet been any official decision announced on the status of PRIMA with respect to this review and mission selection process.
On September 1-3, 2026 there was a NASA community science workshop held in Pasadena. This workshop invited broad discussion on future mission concepts and priorities for the NASA Astrophysics Division Astrophysics Strategic Technology & Research Accelerator (AD-ASTRA) Initiative. The intent of the workshop was to gain community feedback on priorities for future missions within the next decadal review and beyond. There was broad astronomy community representation participating in the workshop, which coincidentally took place shortly after the successful launch of the NASA Roman telescope on Aug. 30, 2026. While the scope of the workshop discussions was on the longer-term future, there was some discussion on PRIMA as it related to science priorities as well as potentially informed future mission concepts and there was a general enthusiasm for PRIMA within the community present. The workshop did not include any announcement about the PRIMA decision, however, it was stated that a NASA decision on PRIMA remains expected in Q4 of 2026. If selected, PRIMA phase B would start in Q1 of 2027. This decision could be as early as September 2026.
Bespoke Canadian hardware has been part of the PRIMA probe instrumentation since its conception. Within Canada, while we wait on a NASA launch decision for PRIMA, we remain at a decision point where the Canadian FTS hardware may be purchased by NASA directly (with no science return to the Canadian astronomy community), or the CSA could support an official Canadian contribution (with science return to the Canadian community).
We ask for the strongest support for PRIMA from the Canadian Astronomy community and from the CSA to realize this unique opportunity. Interested CASCA and community members can find additional details at the PRIMA webpage by checking out upcoming and archived virtual sessions from the monthly PRIMA talk series and by joining the Canadian Far-Infrared Space Astronomy mailing list. We will look to organize a virtual event for the Canadian astronomy community in the coming months.
Canadian participation in a far-infrared space astronomy mission is one of the key recommendations in both the CASCA LRP and CSA CSEW reports. November 2025 saw the release of the PRIMA General Observer (GO) Science book volume 2 by the PRIMA science team, containing 120 unique GO science cases for the PRIMA mission. This is a follow-up to the volume 1 PRIMA GO release containing 76 cases. There was also a dedicated PRIMA issue of JATIS published in late 2025 with 38 papers, including a PRIMA Mission Concept Overview (Glenn et al. 2025). There are also many Canadian connections and collaborations within the released GO books.
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