Pauline Barmby
Gemini’s Fourth Science and
User Meeting: A Glimpse of
the Past, Present, and Future
Weren’t able to attend the Gemini Science and User Meeting held in San
Francisco this past July? This article reviews the science presented from the
Solar System to Gamma-ray Bursts, to engaging discussions about the future
priorities at Gemini from our user community’s perspective. It’s a must-read for
anyone interested in the future of Gemini.
The 2012 Gemini Science and User Meeting, held July 17-20 in San Francisco, California,
brought together over 100 participants representing all of Gemini’s partner countries. Large
contingents from both Brazil and Australia made the long trip to enjoy the typically chilly
weather; the familiar quote (often incorrectly attributed to Mark Twain) that “the coldest
winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco” was heard numerous times.
In addition to members of the Gemini staff and National Gemini Offices, participants from
other observatories — the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), and the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy
(SOFIA) — provided a wider perspective. While the meeting wasn’t the press-release-filled
American Astronomical Society, it did have its own Twitter hashtag (#gsm12) with social
media coverage by Gemini’s Emma Hogan (@gemini_ehogan), Anglo-Australian’s Am