Long-term status proposals allow observers to request observations throughout the calendar year. This is intended to support programs where data obtained over a full calendar year are required for the scientific goals.
Long-term proposals are solicited only in the first semester (A) competition (early October deadline) and only for the smaller telescopes. The TAC will not consider long-term proposals for the Magellan telescopes. In addition, long-term status at the MMT will be given ONLY to very highly rated proposals. All long-term proposals will also be considered for short-term time as if they were a normal proposal.
Long-term proposals should describe why long-term status is needed and what the full scope of the proposal is. The science justification should justify the case for the overall program, not just the current semester's observations. Time requests for future scheduling periods must be indicated on the form, in a table identical to the Summary of Observing Runs.
If long-term status is granted, the proposers must still file status reports in semester B, describing their progress thus far and requesting the time that they have been granted. This is so that the TAC can monitor the program and so that the scheduler can be made aware of any scheduling requirements. The status report need not justify the science program; that has already been competed. Failure to file a status report will result in the time not being scheduled.
The TAC does sometimes grant a long-term proposal some time in semester A but deny the long-term status request. In this case, the proposers must apply in semester B with a normal short-term proposals.
There is no carry-over of long-term status from one year to the the next. If your proposal was granted long-term status, that status has lapses on December 31. You must file a new long-term status proposal, not a status report.