The Gemini Observatory is an astronomical observatory consisting of two 8.1-metre (26.6 ft), Gemini North and Gemini South, which are located at two separate sites in and, respectively. The twin Gemini telescopes provide almost complete coverage of both the northern and southern skies. They are currently among the largest and most advanced optical/ telescopes available to astronomers. (See ).The (NSF) of the, the National Research Council of, CONICYT of, MCTI of, and MCTIP of own and operate the Gemini Observatory. The NSF is currently (2017) the majority partner, contributing approximately 70% of the funding needed to operate and maintain both telescopes.
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The operations and maintenance of the observatory is managed by the (AURA), through a cooperative agreement with NSF. NSF acts as the Executive Agency on behalf of the international partners.The Gemini telescopes house a suite of modern instruments, offer superb performance in the and near-, and employ sophisticated technology to compensate for the blurring effects of the Earth's. Gemini is a world-leader in wide-field adaptive optics assisted infrared imaging, and has recently commissioned the Gemini Planet Imager, an instrument that allows researchers to directly image and analyze that are a millionth as bright as the host star around which they orbit. Gemini continues to support research in almost all areas of modern astronomy, including the, exoplanets, star formation and evolution, the structure and dynamics of, supermassive, distant, and the structure of the on the largest scales.Past participants in the Gemini Observatory include Australia and the United Kingdom. The UK dropped out of the partnership at the end of 2012 and the Gemini Observatory has responded to the loss of funding by significantly reducing its operating costs, streamlining its operations, and implementing energy savings measures at each site.
Both telescopes are also now operated remotely from Base Facility Operations centers in Hilo, Hawaii, and La Serena, Chile. An artist's impression of, which is thought to be the most Solar System-like exoplanet ever directly imaged. Credits: Danielle Futselaar & Franck Marchis,.
Adaptive optics Both Gemini telescopes employ sophisticated state-of-the-art adaptive optics systems. Gemini-N routinely uses the ALTAIR system, built in Canada, which achieves a 30–45% on a 22.5-arcsecond-square field and can feed NIRI, NIFS or GNIRS; it can use natural or laser guide stars. In conjunction with NIRI it was responsible for the discovery of.At Gemini-S the Gemini Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics System (GeMS) may be used with the FLAMINGOS-2 near-infrared imager and spectrometry, or the Gemini South Adaptive Optics Imager (GSAOI), which provides uniform, diffraction-limited image quality to arcminute-scale fields of view.
GeMS achieved first light on December 16, 2011. Using a constellation of five laser guide stars, it achieved of 0.08 arc-seconds in H band over a field of 87 arc-seconds square.An adaptive secondary mirror has been considered for Gemini, which would provide reasonable adaptive-optics corrections (equivalent to natural seeing at the 20th-percentile level for 80% of the time) to all instruments on the telescope to which it is attached.
However, as of 2017, there are no plans to implement such an upgrade to either telescope.Instruments In recent years the Gemini Board has directed the observatory to support only four instruments at each telescope. Because Gemini-N and Gemini-S are essentially identical, the observatory is able to move instruments between the two sites, and does so on a regular basis. Two of the most popular instruments are the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrographs (GMOS) on each of the telescopes. Built in Edinburgh, Scotland by thethese instruments provide multi-object spectroscopy, imaging, and at optical wavelengths. The detectors in each instrument have recently been upgraded with devices, which significantly improve performance in the far red part of the optical spectrum (700–1,000 nm).Near-infrared imaging and spectroscopy are provided by the NIRI, NIFS, GNIRS, FLAMINGOS-2, and GSAOI instruments. The availability and detailed descriptions of these instruments is documented on the Gemini Observatory Web site.One of the most exciting new instruments at Gemini is GPI, the. GPI was built by a consortium of US and Canadian institutions to fulfill the requirements of the ExAOC Extreme Adaptive Optics Coronagraph proposal.
GPI is an extreme adaptive-optics imaging /integral-field, which provides diffraction-limited data between 0.9 and 2.4 microns. GPI is able to directly image planets around nearby stars that are one-millionth as bright as their host star.Gemini also supports a vigorous visitor instrument program. Instruments may be brought to either telescope for short periods of time and used for specific observing programs by the instrument teams. In return for access to Gemini, the instruments are then made available to the entire Gemini community, so that they may be used for other science projects. Instruments that have made use of this program include the Differential Speckle Survey Instrument (DSSI), the Phoenix near-infrared spectrometer, and the TEXES mid-infrared spectrometer.
The ESPaDOnS spectrograph situated in the basement of the (CFHT) is also being used as a 'visitor instrument', even though it never moves from CFHT. The instrument is connected to Gemini-North via a 270 meter long optic fibre.
Known as GRACES, this arrangement provides very high resolution optical spectroscopy on an 8-meter class telescope.Gemini's silver coating and infrared optimization allow sensitive observations in the mid-infrared part of the spectrum (5–27 ). Historically, mid-infrared observations have been obtained using T-ReCS at Gemini South and Michelle at Gemini North. Both instruments have imaging and spectroscopic capabilities, though neither is currently being used at Gemini.Instrumentation development issues The first phase of Gemini instrumentation development did not run smoothly; schedules slipped by several years, and budgets sometimes overran by as much as a factor of two.
In 2003 the instrument-development process was re-analysed in the Aspen report; for example, an incentive program was introduced where instrument developers were guaranteed substantial allocations of telescope time if they delivered the instrument on time and lose it as the instrument is delayed.A wide-field multi-object spectrograph achieved substantial scientific support, but would have required major changes to the design of the telescope – effectively it would have required one of the telescopes to be devoted to that instrument. The project was terminated in 2009. Second-round instrumentation development In January 2012, the Gemini Observatory started a new round of instrumentation development. This process has since resulted in the development of a high-resolution optical spectrograph known as GHOST, to be commissioned in 2018.
More recently, the Gemini Instrument Feasibility Studies (GIFS) process has led to a solicitation for a medium-resolution, wide-band (350 nm to 2.5 µm in a single exposure) spectrograph. Proposals have been received and a contract is expected to be placed in early 2017, with development to begin shortly thereafter.Observing and community support The Gemini Observatory's primary mission is to serve the general astronomical communities in all of the participant countries; indeed, the Observatory provides the bulk of general access to large optical/infrared telescopes for many of the participants, and represents the only public-access 8 meter class facility in the U.S. The observatory reaches out to its community through National Gemini Offices (NGOs), the U.S.
Office being located in Tucson at the. The NGOs provide general support to the users, from proposal preparation through data acquisition, reduction, and analysis.In any given year the two telescopes typically provided data for over 400 discrete science projects, over two-thirds of which are led by U.S.
About 50-70 percent of the top-ranked 'Band 1' proposals reach 100 percent completion in any given year. Of order 90 percent of the available (clear weather) time is used for science, the rest being allocated to scheduled maintenance or lost to unforeseen technical faults.Gemini has in recent years developed innovative new observing modes. These include the ‘Large and Long’ program to support requests for large amounts of telescope time and the ‘Fast Turnaround’ program to provide quick access to the telescope.
These and other modes have been approved by the Gemini Board of Directors and are proving popular with the user community. In 2015 up to 20 percent of available telescope time was used for Large and Long programs, which in terms of hours of observing attracted five times more user demand than could be accommodated. In the same period approximately 10 percent of telescope time was assigned to the Fast Turnaround program, which in the second half of 2015 was over-subscribed by a factor of 1.6. In 2015 the remaining U.S. Time allocation on Gemini was over-subscribed by a factor of approximately 2, consistent with recent years.Prospects (2017 onwards) In 2010, the U.S. (NRC) conducted its sixth decadal survey in astronomy and astrophysics to recommend key science questions and new initiatives for the current decade.
Since both the NRC recommendations and current programs could not be accommodated within subsequent budget projections, the 's Division of Astronomical Sciences, through the Advisory Committee of the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), conducted a community-based portfolio review to make implementation recommendations that would best respond to the decadal survey science questions. The resulting report, Advancing Astronomy in the Coming Decade: Opportunities and Challenges, was released in August 2012 and included recommendations related to all of the major telescope facilities funded by NSF. The Portfolio Review Committee report ranked Gemini Observatory as a critical component of the U.S.' S future astronomical research resources and recommended that the U.S.
Retain a majority share in the international partnership for at least the next several years. However, given the constraints that were considered, the Committee recommended that the U.S. Contribution to Gemini operations be capped in 2017 and beyond.NSF has since commissioned a National Research Council study, titled 'A Strategy to Optimize the U.S. Optical/Infrared System in the Era of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope'.
The report made a recommendation that NSF work with its partners in Gemini to ensure that Gemini-South is well positioned for faint-object spectroscopy early in the era of the (LSST). Observatory support for the development of a next-generation medium-resolution spectrograph over the next 5–6 years addresses this recommendation directly.With the signing of the new International Agreement in late 2015, support from the five signatories (the U.S., Canada, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile) is secured for the period 2016-2021. There is also a strong possibility that current limited-term partners, Australia and Korea, will continue their relationship with the observatory in this manner, or will seek to transition to being full participants before the end of the current agreement.Observations and Research The Gemini was one of the telescopes that observed the turn-on of a nuclear transient, along with the (aka Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory since 2018) and the (MDM observatory). The transient event was called PS1-13cbe and was located in the Galaxy SDSS J222154.2 See also.References. Retrieved 2013-11-15. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
^. Retrieved 2019-10-14.External links. from by Michael J.
The Magellanic Clouds seems to float over a starry sky, while a laser ray is propagated from the dome of the Gemini South telescope in Chile, as part of the Gemini Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics System (GeMS), which captures images of unprecedented resolution to help astronomers to unveil the mysteries of the Universe.This revolutionary system measures atmospheric turbulence to produce optical corrections to the light that reaches the telescope, using several deformable mir. Rors that modify its shape 1,000 times per second. Finally, researchers obtain an image as good or better than the ones of space telescopes. Magellan Clouds seem to float over a starry sky, as a laser is projected from the dome of the South Gemini telescope in Chile, as part of the Gemini Multi-Conjugate System of Adaptive Optics (GeMS), which it offers images of an unprecedented resolution to astronomers trying to decipher the mysteries of the Universe.This revolutionary system measures atmospheric turbulence to produce optical light corrections that reaches the telescope, using a series of deformable mirrors that modify its shape 1.000 times per second. As a result, it is possible to get a picture as good or better than that of space telescopes.For more information: #DescubriendoJuntos #QuedateEnCasa #NOIRLabChile. Located on a hillside of Cerro Tololo, towards the Northeast, a variety of small domes multiply to take advantage of the privileged conditions of this mountain.
They are mostly robotic telescopes, which explore the night sky and the Sun for different research institutions around the world. From left to right:1. The T80 telescope, from the Brazilian astronomical community, worked in a survey of the sky on 12 optical filters to produce 3D maps of the Universe.2. The NSO-GONG. Solar Telescope is part of the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG), which is a worldwide program to carry out a detailed study of the internal structure and the dynamics of the Sun using helioseismology.
The following 8 domes are part of the PROMPT project (Panchromatic Robotic Optical Monitoring and Polarimetry Telescopes), and their main function is to observe the brightness after the gamma ray bursts (GRB), however, they are also used for education. Telescopes are controlled through Skynet network.4.
The 1.3 meter telescope, part of the SMARTS consortium, captures simultaneous optical (visible light) and infrared (invisible light to human) images with its ANDICAM camera.5. The Las Cumbres Observatory telescopes (3 domes) + IGLOO (container to the right of the third telescope - Spectrograph) are part of the Las Cumbres Global Telescope Network (LCOGT) project, with robotic telescopes on 5 continents. Astronomers and educators from around the world can use the network for research on Supernovae, Exoplanets, and near-Earth objects (eg: Comets and Meteorites).6.
The KASI telescope is part of a Korean network of telescopes located on 3 continents that allow 24-hour monitoring of the entire Southern Hemisphere. Its main goal is to discover extrasolar planets (exoplanets) with mass similar to Earth, using the techniques of Gravitational Microlens.@NatOIRLab. Gemini South is an 8.1 meter diameter primary mirror telescope, that like its twin in the Northern Hemisphere, was designed to excel in a wide variety of optical and infrared capabilities. By incorporating technologies such as laser guide star adaptive optics and multi-object spectroscopy, astronomers explore the Universe in depth and detail never seen before.The Vera C. Rubin Telescope is still under construction. Once it starts operations in late 2022, it will conduct an unprecedented optical survey of the visible sky with the purpose to investigate dark energy and dark matter, inventorying objects in the Solar System, track transient objects in the sky and map our Milky Way.@OIRLab.
#OIRLabQuiz Our Image of the week of March 19 #IotW shows a dazzling purple sky adorned with strokes of stars over the South Gemini telescope (to the right of the image) and the South Astrophysics Research Telescope (SOAR, by its 4,1 meters (left of the image). What is the name of the hill where these two telescopes are located in Chile? Follow the link to our Image of the Week of March 19 #IotW to get a clue. Send your answer using the link to the survey below and return Monday for the answer. #DiscoverTogether #NSFOIRLab #GeminiObsSurvey: http://ow.ly/KqKC50yX6WI.