Did you get observing time? Congratulations! What to do next.         

If you are reading this article, it meas your Phase 1 proposal has been approved and you obtained observing time at the telescope. Congratulations!

ESO allows different observing modes. Which is yours?

If you applied for Service mode observation, the very first thing to do is checking the deadline for the submission of your observation material, the so called ESO Phase 2.  If you, instead, applied for Visitor mode or designated Visitor mode, please visit this page. 

In all cases, what you need to get familiar with is the preparation of Observing Blocks. The Observing Block (OB) is the codification of your observation for its execution at the telescope. It carries the information on what, how and possibly when to observe.  Please, have a look at the dedicated article on "What is an Observing Block".

While in VM or dVM you will be present at and in control of the execution of your observation, in SM you will need to provide some further info to us to make sure that we observe your target with the constraints and in the modality you need. For this reason, observing in SM requires some attention to additional procedures and policies to have a clear idea of what you can and can not do. You can find detailed information here.