Proposal Content
The most important parts of an HST proposal are: (1) cover pages (Abstract, proposer information, requested resources, Observation Summary), (2) Scientific Justification, and (3) Observational Description. For AR and Theory proposals there is no Observation Summary and the Observational Description section is replaced by an Analysis Plan and Budget Narrative; signed budgets are not required in Phase I.The Scientific Justification of Small and Medium GO, Snap and AR proposals is limited to no more than 8 pages total. The text of the 'Scientific Justification' section may not be more than 3 pages. There are no limits on the numbers of figures, tables and references in the proposal, and on where they appear in the proposal. However, the total page limit must be obeyed. For Large GO, Treasury and AR Legacy proposals the Scientific Justification is limited to be no more than 11 pages total, and the text of the 'Scientific Justification' section may not be more than 6 pages. There are also no limits on the numbers of figures, tables and references in the proposal, and on where they appear in the proposal, but the total page limit must be obeyed.
STScI does not remove pages beyond the appropriate page limit in the PDF file. Panelists and TAC members should take any infringement of these limits into account when grading individual proposals.
HST Proposals are submitted in response to the Call for Proposals (CP), which summarizes proposal policies and procedures and gives detailed information on the required content of HST proposals. The HST Primer provides an overview of the Hubble Space Telescope. Reviewers interested in more technical information should consult the relevant Instrument Handbooks.
The CP consists of two parts: (1) a detailed description of proposal policies and procedures, and (2) detailed information on the required contents of HST proposals. Reviewers should familiarize themselves with the contents of the CP and Primer, in order to judge proposals fairly.