Proposing
ALMA Cycle 13 Call for Proposals is now OPEN
The ALMA Cycle 13 is scheduled for observations from October 2026 to September 2027.
Proposal submission deadline for Cycle 13 proposals is on 23 April 2026 (17:00 CEST). The key dates for the CfP in Cycle 13 are given in the Table below.
The Czech ARC node organizes a Pre-Cycle 13 workshop on 07 April 2026 in Prague aimed to prepare the local communities for the upcoming ALMA Cycle 13. The focus will be on the preparation of observations, capabilities of ALMA in Cycle 13, important observation parameters, examples of observing proposals, work with the new web-based Observing Tool application for the preparation and submission of proposals, etc. See more details and register here.
| Date | Milestone |
| 19 March 2026 (16:00 CET) | Release of Cycle 13 CfP, Observing Tool, and supporting documents, and opening of the Archive for proposal submission |
| 23 April 2026 (17:00 CEST) | Proposal submission deadline for Cycle 13 proposals |
| 3 June 2026 (17:00 CEST) | Deadline to submit reviews for the distributed peer review system |
| August 2026 | Announcement of the outcome of the proposal review process |
| 1 October 2026 | Start of ALMA Cycle 13 science observations (anticipated) |
| 30 September 2027 | End of ALMA Cycle 13 |
New in Cycle 13
The following technical capabilities will be available this Cycle for the first time:
-
Band 2 on the 12-m Array. Band 2, covering 67–116 GHz, is offered for the 12-m Array, including
full polarization with a single pointing. -
Web-based ALMA Observing Tool. Starting in Cycle 13, the desktop-based OT has been replaced by a web-based OT that can be accessed at https://cycle-13.sps.alma.cl.
ALMA encourages proposals in configurations, LST ranges, and receiver bands that have been historically less heavily requested, including:
- ACA, especially in the LST range of 20h to 1h (note that ACA stand-alone proposals had, on average, a very high acceptance rate of 76% in Cycle 12)
- High frequency (Bands 8, 9, and 10) in any configuration
- Low frequency (Bands 1 through 4) at long baselines (C-7 through C-10), particularly for proposals focused on sources near RA of 22h
For Cycle 13, the JAO anticipates having 4300 hours of approved science time on each of the 12-m, 7-m, and the Total Power arrays. Together, the 7-m Array and Total Power Array form the Atacama Compact Array (ACA), also known as the Morita Array.
Find more details about the CfP in Cycle 13 here.