AO-21 Information - XMM-Newton
XMM-Newton Twenty-first Announcement of Opportunity (AO-21)
The Announcement of Opportunity is closed now
Effective 17 August 2021, XMM-Newton observing proposals were solicited in response to the Twenty-first Announcement of Opportunity, AO-21.
A letter from ESA's Director of Science, inviting you to participate in the Twenty-first Call for Proposals, is available in electronic form.
The deadline for XMM-Newton AO-21 proposal submission was Friday 8 October 2021, 12:00 UT.
Important changes for AO-21 relative to earlier Calls
(see the Policies and Procedures Document)
New Proposal Submission System: XIPS
The Phase I submission system (HRPS) has been replaced by a new on-line interface: XIPS (XMM-Newton Interface for Proposal Submission).Access to XIPS requires login via the ESA-Cosmos account credentials, the same used to log in to the XMM-Newton Science Archive (XSA).
Registration in ESA-Cosmos can be done via
Due to this new submission system, HTML proposal files from previous AOs cannot be re-used. In XIPS, proposals are stored in an XMM-Newton SOC server, so that they will be available for future AOs, i.e. AO22 onwards, but local copies are not possible.
Proposers are advised to become familiar with the new system well in advance to avoid last minute problems.
XIPS is available at
Anticipated Target of Opportunity Observations in Joint HST Programmes
Ultra-rapid HST Target of Opportunity (ToO) requests (i.e., with reaction time of 2 days or less) will not be accepted for this programme. Proposals asking for ultra-rapid HST ToO observations must be submitted in response to the HST Call for Proposals, with HST as the primary observatory.Reminder: Length of Scientific Justification
The maximum number of pages allowed for the scientific justification of the different types of proposals is:| Large Programmes: | 5 pages |
| Fulfil Programmes: | 2 pages |
| Other Programmes: | 4 pages |
This limit includes all accompanying material, like the section on the feasibility of the proposed observations, figures, tables, references, previous work and publications.
Proposal Submission Documentation
The following AO-21 documentation is available:
| Letter by the Director of Science announcing AO-21 | |
| Policies and Procedures for the XMM-Newton AO-21 | |
| XMM-Newton Users Handbook (UHB) | on-line , pdf |
| XMM-Newton Scientific Justification LaTeX Template | LaTeX File |
On-line documentation contains updated links to references in the text.
The XMM-Newton SOC highly recommends the use of the Scientific Justification LaTeX Template (see further instructions at the end of this page).
AO-21 Timetable
Key milestones for AO-21 are
| Announcement of Opportunity | 17 August 2021 |
| Due date for Proposals | 8 October 2021 (12:00 UT) |
| Final OTAC approved programme | mid December 2021 |
| For approved proposals only: | |
| Start of Phase II proposal submission | 10 January 2022 |
| Closure of Phase II proposal submission | 4 February 2022 |
| Start of AO-21 observations | May 2022 |
Approved AO-21 observations are planned to be performed during the period May 2022 to April 2023 (XMM-Newton revolutions 4102-4285).
Proposal Submission Procedure and Tools
XMM-Newton Proposals were submitted using the XMM-Newton Interface for Proposal Submission (XIPS) software:
| XMM-Newton Interface for Proposal Submission (XIPS) |
The following tools are available to assist AO-21 proposers:
- Visibility Checker Tool
Check if a target is visible with XMM-Newton - Sky Visibility Map
Check visibility constraints for any position on the sky during this AO - Observation Lokator
Check if a target has been observed or is awaiting observation by XMM-Newton - Pending Anticipated ToOs
Check if a target has already been accepted as anticipated ToO, and find the validity period of the corresponding proposal - EPIC Exposure Map Simulator
For XMM-Newton Mosaic Mode - xmm_footprint.tpl (for ds9), xmm_footprint.xml (for Aladin)
EPIC-pn footprint templates
These files can be downloaded and be used as templates for ds9 and Aladin viewers. They should be loaded as Region-Template-Load (in ds9) and FOV (in Aladin).
The Position Angles with which a given object can be observed with XMM-Newton can be obtained with the Visibility Checker Tool.
Other Useful Links for Proposers
The following links are available to assist AO-21 proposers:
- Observation and Data Processing Status
- XMM-Newton Science Archive
- Calibration Portal, including links to 'canned' response matrices for all XMM-Newton instruments
- The Behaviour of the XMM-Newton Background
- For Planning purposes:
- Visibility of AO-20 requested Very Large Programmes (VLPs)
The plot shows the over-subscription of VLPs versus visibility during a year. Note that some periods are significantly more over-subscribed than others, which should be avoided. This can be achieved, for example, if several targets are available to reach a scientific goal of a proposal, i.e. selecting a target with good visibility in periods of low over-subscription. - Evolution of the XMM-Newton Sky Visibility (for details please refer to Section 4.2.3 of the XMM-Newton Users Handbook).
- Visibility of AO-20 requested Very Large Programmes (VLPs)
- Remote Proposal Submission, Phase I
The following external links may also be helpful:
- PIMMS Mission Count Rate Simulator
- Catalogues and astronomical archives of HEASARC
- Chandra Target Information Search
Using the LaTeX Template File
Use of the provided LaTeX template to write the scientific justification is highly recommended.
Proposal justifications MUST be submitted as one file in Portable Document Format (PDF). A PDF file can be generated from the LaTeX template in one of two ways:
- Use a LaTeX installation which allows you to create PDF files directly from the .tex file (e.g. pdflatex). Some installations of pdflatex do not allow you to include postscript figures. In this case you might use method 2.
- Use ps2pdf (preferably version 1.4) to convert the postscript file to PDF:
> latex file.tex
> dvips -Ppdf -G0 -o file.ps file.dvi
> ps2pdf14 file.ps file.pdf
Please take note of the following points regarding the use of the LaTeX template provided:
- Proposers must make sure that generated pdf output from the template is complete both when displayed with a viewer (acroread) and when printed on paper. LaTeX installations vary greatly and therefore it might not be possible to get all proposals to come out correctly with a single text page layout. In some cases the user will have to adjust the \topmargin=-7mm command in the template to vertically centre the text.
- The page limit of 4 pages (5 pages for "Large Programmes", 2 pages for "Fulfil Programmes") includes all materials, i.e. science justification and Sections 4 and 5 (previous work and publications).
- Color images are allowed and proposals are distributed to OTAC in electronic form. However, the scientific content of images should still remain clear when displayed or printed in black and white.
- The proposal justification can be submitted in single or in two-column format. Instructions on how to switch between these two layouts are given in the LaTeX template.
- The font size (11pt) is mandatory.
All questions regarding XMM-Newton proposal submission should be directed to the XMM-Newton HelpDesk.