On April 2, 2019, the Proposal Preparation Meeting for ALMA Cycle 7 was held in the NAOJ Mitaka Campus with participation of 22 people in the venue and some researchers who remotely attended via live streaming on the internet.

ALMA science observations are carried out based on a one-year time frame from October to the end of September, which is called a “Cycle”. A new cycle starts from October 2019 as Cycle 7. Each cycle has a certain number of observation programs to be implemented, which are selected through reviews of observation proposals in response to the Calls for Proposals announced every spring. If wishing to use ALMA in the forthcoming cycle, researchers need to make their observation proposals to meet the deadline.

The East-Asian ALMA Regional Center (EA-ARC), located in the NAOJ Mitaka Campus, organizes annual preparatory meetings for Japanese and East Asian researchers to help them make effective and convincing observation proposals. This year’s meeting provided the basic instructions on how to write an observation proposal and introduction of new capabilities that become available in Cycle 7, as well as other suggestions that researchers should be aware of when making an observation proposal in regard to weather conditions, observing frequencies, data processing, and so forth. The meeting also provided the opportunity for a hands-on session on Observing Tool and a private tutorial session to support participants making proposal preparations.