Scot Kleinman, Maxime Boccas, and Peter Michaud
Instruments Update
With the highly visible success of the Gemini South Multi-conjugate
Adaptive Optics System combined with the Gemini South Adaptive Optics
Imager, to several new initiatives at Gemini North, both Gemini telescopes
are poised to enter a new era of cutting-edge capabilities to support the
needs of our user community.
Figure 1.
The Moon illuminates
the Gemini South
telescope during
a recent laser
propagation of the
Multi-conjugate
Adaptive Optics System.
Rapid progress in myriad new instrumentation initiatives at Gemini occurred during
the first quarter of 2013. Those reaching
fruition at Gemini South on Cerro Pachón,
however, are currently the most tangible
(see the cover image of the Orion Bullets
from GeMS); before the year is out, GeMS
will be in regular science operations, the
Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) should be well
into on-sky commissioning, and FLAMINGOS-2 will be on its way to establishing itself as Gemini South’s near-infrared imager
and spectrograph.
Meanwhile, progress on longer-term development at Gemini North is none-the-less
significant. For instance, several initiatives
from the shared use of GRACES with CFHT to
negotiations on the Gemini High-resolution
Optical Spectrograph will point to Gemini’s
North’s exciting future on Mauna Kea.
April2013
GeminiFocus
17