Figure 1.
Pie charts showing the
ratings for the 2017B
Phase I process (top
left), 2017B Phase II
process (top right),
and 2017A observing
semester (bottom).
Overall, the outcomes of this survey are
diverse; they also reveal three additional
points: Scientist of their program, and inform
them of what is important for their proj-
ect’s success.
1. We lack clear descriptions of what PIs
should expect from the Observatory,
and vice versa, especially in the context
of Queue observing. We are arranging
new web pages that should help with
these communication issues. Some PIs used the survey to send us specific
complaints. This was very useful, since these
few situations would have been missed oth-
erwise. We, of course, recommend that PIs
address their concerns to us as early as pos-
sible, but we appreciate any opportunity to
discuss what happened and find more pro-
ductive future strategies.
2. PIs pointed out that some GMOS-S data
observed in 2017A were difficult to re-
duce due to bias and cosmetic prob-
lems. The hardware issues that caused
these problems are now resolved, and
we continue to work with PIs on the
complications introduced by these fea-
tures in their data reduction process. Af-
fected PIs, if they have not already done
so, are encouraged to contact us.
3. Many who took the survey thanked
staff for their helpful support. We rec-
ommend that PIs continue to start with
early communications with the Contact
80
GeminiFocus
We look forward to hearing more from you
through our future surveys, so we can bet-
ter align our work with your research needs.
Also, stay tuned, because the Science User
Support Department will continue to address
responses in future issues of GeminiFocus.
André-Nicolas Chené is an assistant astrono-
mer in the Science User Support Group. He is lo-
cated at Gemini North and can be contacted at:
[email protected]
January 2018 / 2017 Year in Review