1 Director’s Message
Laura Ferrarese
3 Gemini North and South Join in
Welcoming the Solar System’s First
Interstellar Emissary
John Blakeslee
ON THE COVER:
Artist’s concept
of interstellar
asteroid 1I/2017 U1
(‘Oumuamua), which
is unlike that of any
object seen in our Solar
System. The small
inset at center shows
a Gemini image of
‘Oumuamua, while the
panel below it shows
the object’s light curve
created from VLT,
Gemini (North and
South), and Keck data.
The article summarizing
this work begins on
page 3. Also shown
are the covers from the
April, July, and October
issues of GeminiFocus.
Credit: Gemini Observatory/
AURA/NSF (inset); University
of Hawai‘i Institute for
Astronomy (panel); Gemini
Observatory/AURA/NSF/Joy
Pollard (background artwork).
7 Rocky Planet Engulfment Explains
Stellar Odd Couple
Carlos Saffe
11 Blue Binaries Suggest a Smooth
Migration for Young Neptune
Wes Fraser
37 Science Highlights
John Blakeslee and Peter Michaud
49 On the Horizon
Gemini staff contributions
58 MAROON-X: A New
ExoEarth-finder Spectrograph for
Gemini North
Jacob Bean, Andreas Seifahrt, Alison Peck
63 News for Users
Gemini staff contributions
78 Gemini’s Users Provide Valuable
Feedback for the Future
16 The Host Galaxy of the Repeating
André-Nicolas Chené
Shriharsh P. Tendulkar, on behalf of the
Alison Peck
Fast Radio Burst FRB 121102
FRB 121102 collaboration
21 Astronomers Feast on First Light
From Gravitational Wave Event
Peter Michaud
25 Striking Gemini Images Point Juno
Spacecraft Toward Discovery
Peter Michaud
29 Persistence Pays Off in the Study
of Shock-heated Gas
Tom Geballe
33 The Chosen One: OCTOCAM
81 Internships
84 Gemini Assistant Scientist Awarded
the 2017 Carl Sagan Medal
Gemini staff contribution
86 Viaje al Universo 2017 Encourages
Diversity in Astronomy and More
Manuel Paredes
90 Exploring, Learning, and Fun:
Gemini Outreach Events Span Both
Hemispheres!
Alexis Ann Acohido and Manuel Paredes
(Gen4#3)
Stephen Goodsell, on behalf of the
OCTOCAM team
GeminiFocus January 2018 / 2017 Year in Review
GeminiFocus is a quarterly publication of the Gemini Observatory
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Online viewing address: www.gemini.edu/geminifocus
Managing Editor: Peter Michaud / Associate Editor: Stephen James O’Meara
Designer: Eve Furchgott/ Blue Heron Multimedia
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s)
and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the Gemini Partnership.
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GeminiFocus
January 2018 / 2017 Year in Review