nopacky, University of California San Diego)
and the NSF (PI Jeffrey Chilcote, University of
Notre Dame) to upgrade GPI and move it to
Gemini North.
What the Future Holds
The next year — and the next decade — are
shaping up to be transformative for Gemini
Observatory and astronomy as a whole. We
cannot yet know how new discoveries and
facilities will disrupt the way we do and think
about astronomy. Therefore, Gemini Obser-
vatory’s strengths of flexibility, diversity, and
agility will continue to serve us well as we
prepare for the decade of discovery to come.
Over the next several years, we will enhance
our ability to provide efficient and rapid
observations through the development of
updated user interfaces and proposal tools,
automated dynamic scheduling, and the
spectroscopic DRAGONS pipelines. We will
deliver the first MCAO system to Maunakea
by the middle of the next decade, with night-
ly, queue-ready operations. The pathway to
full ground-layer adaptive optics described
in the Astro2020 white paper will signifi-
cantly increase Gemini’s photon-collecting
power by the end of the decade, enabling
unknown discoveries to come.
In these early days of 2020, I was happy to see
so many in the US community at what was
my second Gemini Observatory Open House
during the AAS winter meeting in Honolulu,
Hawai‘i. Looking ahead, one of the highlights
of 2020 will undoubtedly be the next Gemini
Science Meeting: “20th Anniversary and Be-
yond,” in Seoul, Korea, from June 21-25, 2019.
Registration is now open, and I can’t wait to
see you all there.
Although the unrest in Chile and protests at
Maunakea have provided challenges for our
staff and to doing science over the past year, I
am grateful for the privilege to be part of our
journey of discovery about the Universe and
for everyone in the Gemini community that
makes that journey possible. Clear skies and
happy new year!
Jennifer Lotz is the Gemini Observatory Director.
She can be reached at: [email protected]
Gemini Focus in Transition:
A New Era in User Communications
With the publication of this issue of GeminiFocus, a new era in communications with our in-
ternational user community begins. Beginning in Quarter 2 of 2020, a joint publication of all
of NSF's NOIRLab facilities will launch that will encompass all of the news that users expect in
GeminiFocus, plus similar news from Kitt Peak National Observatory, Cerro Tololo Inter-Amer-
ican Observatory, the Community Science & Data Center and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
Gemini users throughout the international Gemini Partnership will continue to receive the in-
formation needed to carry out the cutting-edge science we’ve come to expect from our com-
munity and, with the additional content, to expand everyone’s horizons.
The Gemini e-newscast will for the time being continue to provide the latest time-critical infor-
mation in email format for users, such as proposal deadlines, instrument availability and other
important events. We welcome your input as we embark on this transition to better serve the
entire Gemini Partnership.
January 2020 / 2019 Year in Review
GeminiFocus
3