son). We also achieved unprecedented
performance during our first science
run at sub-80-milliarcsecond-level per-
formance in the J-band.
Figure 4.
Optical layout for
IGRINS. All parts
shown are within
the cryogenic
part of the
instrument. For
Gemini, the five
optical elements
between the
dewar window
and the slit were
exchanged.
The TOPTICA laser has considerably
lessened our daytime work to prepare
for a laser night, requiring only that we
turn the key on a few hours before the
night, and the Gemini Multi-conjugate
adaptive optics System (GeMS) is ready
to operate. The GeMS team looks for-
ward to more regular laser windows
now to operate GeMS at its best.
— Gaetano Sivo
2018A Brings Outstanding
Near-IR Spectroscopy to
Gemini South
Through the Visiting Instrument Program,
Gemini users have access to a powerful
new capability for the 2018A semester: the
broad-band, high-spectral-resolution Im-
mersion GRating INfrared Spectrometer
(IGRINS). IGRINS is a collaboration of the
University of Texas and the Korea Astrono-
my and Space Science Institute (KASI). This
cross-dispersed near-IR spectrometer has a
resolving power of R = 45,000 covering the
H and K windows (from 1.45 to 2.5 microns,
respectively) in a single exposure.
As a visiting instrument, IGRINS is ideal be-
cause it has a single observing mode and
contains no moving parts (Figure 4). By ex-
changing the input optics to accommodate
Gemini, the IGRINS H and K echellograms
will be unchanged between facilities. In
March, the instrument team (Figures 5-7) will
accompany IGRINS to Gemini South, where
IGRINS has a strong track record of diverse
and innovative science results, having spent
over 350 nights at the 2.7-meter Harlan J.
Smith Telescope at McDonald Observa-
tory in Texas, and 200 nights at Lowell Ob-
servatory’s 3.5-meter Discovery Channel
Telescope in Arizona. Recent results span
a range of topics including cold molecu-
lar clouds, diffuse interstellar bands, T Tauri
stars, systems containing multiple stars
and/or planets, and even microquasars. The
response to IGRINS at Gemini has been ex-
tremely strong, resulting in many successful
proposals for 2018A.
April 2018
Figure 5.
The IGRINS team (left to
right respectively, back
row: Gregory Mace, Jae
Sok Oh, Chan Park; front
row: Heeyoung
Oh and Kimberley
(Sokal). Mace shot
this “selfie” in the
IGRINS lab at UT
Austin in February
2018. The new
input optics for
IGRINS at Gemini
are shown in the
background after
installation.
Credit: Gregory
Mace (UT Austin)
Figure 6.
IGRINS team members
Kimberley Sokal (left)
and Ricardo Lopez at
UT Austin packing the
instrument for shipping.
Credit: Gregory Mace
(UT Austin)
GeminiFocus
15