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Observing with GREGOR

Observing Plan 2026

The GREGOR observing plan for the first half of 2026: 

Not yet available

Observing Period 2026A (April - August 2026)

GREGOR Observing Time Allocation Procedure

Observing time at GREGOR is allocated by the KIS TAC for the German KIS time, the Spanish TAC for the 20% Spanish time, and the EAST TAC for the 5% of the International Time Programme. More detail on the TAC procedures below. The deadline for proposals for observing campaigns in the first semester of 2026A is  30 January 2026. The period for scientific observations is from April until August 2026.

GREGOR Observing Proposal Template 2026A:

For the German KIS time and the International Time Programme (ITP/CCI) use the following LaTeX template:

LaTeX template            PDF Preview

For Spanish time, see below. For questions on the 2025B Observing Campaign please contact Rolf Schlichenmaier via schliche@leibniz-kis.de.

The following instrument modes are available in 2026A:

GRIS: The instrument GRegor Infrared Spectrograph can be customised with any of the following setups (CWL=central wavelength):

  1. One spectral channel: Any individual wavelength in the range 0.75-1.3 µm or 1.55-1.80 µm. Sampling and spectral ranges depend on the particular wavelength. At a CWL of 15650 Å, the spectral sampling is 40 mÅ and a spectral range of 40 Å
  2. Two spectral channels working simultaneously at:
    • CWL 10830  with a spectral sampling of 14.6 mÅ and a spectral range of 14.6 Å
    • CWL 8542  with a spectral sampling of 11.1 mÅ and a spectral range of 11.1 Å
  3. Two spectral channels working simultaneously at:
    • CWL 12820  with spectral sampling of 25.6 mÅ and a spectral range of 25.6 Å
    • CWL 8542  with a spectral sampling of 16.3 mÅ and a spectral range of 16.3 Å
  4. Three simultaneous spectral arms at 1083, 854.2, and 770 nm, with spectral lines of interest not centered on the detectors.

All configurations support full-Stokes polarimetric measurements across the selected wavelengths. In 2026A GRIS is available in the long-slit mode with a field-of-view of 60 x 0.135 arcsec2 . The IFU unit will be again be available in the second half of 2026, 2026B. The sampling along the slit/slitlet direction is 0.135 arcsec.

Download the new manual of the two-arm GRIS and the GRIS Observing Check List. 

HiFIplus: The upgraded High-resolution Fast Imager (HiFI+) consists of three camera control computers with two synchronized sCMOS cameras each. HiFI+ offers near-diffraction limited imaging at high cadence in six spectral windows: Ca II H, G-band, blue continuum, broad- and narrow-band H-alpha, and TiO. Dichroic beamsplitters splitting at 650 nm and 740 nm can be selected. With the 650 nm beamsplitter, H alpha is in Slit Jaw of GRIS. With the 740 nm beamsplitter, Halpha and TiO@707nm can be observed with HiFIplus (and is not visible in SlitJaw).

Download the HiFIplus Manual, the HiFI observing checklist, and the HiFIplus instrument paper.

New off-limb AO: GREGOR has a new AO mode (H-alpha-AO) which allows locking the AO off-limb on prominences (if the prominence shape permits). This is offered to all users in 2026.

 

Manuals

Manual Server at OT.

Access options for GREGOR observations

German KIS time

The international community is invited to apply for the German KIS observing time. Collaborations with experienced KIS observer(s) is encouraged.

Contact Rolf Schlichenmaier via kis_tac@~@leibniz-kis.de for more information. To apply for KIS observing time send the filled-out proposal template (see above) to kis_tac@~@leibniz-kis.de. 

CCI International Time Programme (ITP)

5% of the GREGOR telescope time is reserved for international access. The observing time is assigned by the EAST TAC. For ITP time, multi-national and/or multi-telescope applications are prefered. Submit the proposal template (see above) to east_tac@astro.su.se. Contact Dan Kiselman (dan@astro.su.se) for more information. 

Spanish time (Solar CAT)

See www.iac.es/OOCC/solar-cat/ for more information. According to international agreements, 20% of the observing time is reserved for assignment by the Spanish solar CAT. Presently, there are no restrictions on nationality to apply for GREGOR time through the solar CAT. Application at www.iac.es/OOCC/solar-cat/.

Acknowledgement and citations

Please acknowledge the use of GREGOR and of data from GREGOR as follows:

The 1.5-meter GREGOR solar telescope was built by a German consortium under the leadership of the Institute for Solar Physics (KIS) in Freiburg with the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam, the Institute for Astrophysics Göttingen, and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Göttingen as partners, and with contributions by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and the Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. The redesign of the GREGOR AO and instrument distribution optics was carried out by KIS whose technical staff is gratefully acknowledged.

The following publications should be cited when referring to GREGOR:

  • Schmidt et al. 2012, AN 333/9, 796, and relevant instrument papers in AN 333/9,
  • Kleint et al. 2020, A&A 641, A27