of California Santa Cruz) as Principal Inves-
tigator (PI), plans to determine if the host
stars of Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satel-
lite (TESS) exoplanet systems are binaries or
multi-component; the other, with Kim Venn
(University of Victoria) as PI, intends to spec-
trally resolve the signature of ancient metal-
poor stars in our Galaxy.
High spatial resolution speckle imaging with
visiting instruments ‘Alopeke (“Fox” in Ha-
waiian) and the Differential Speckle Survey
Instrument (DSSI) have studied the frequen-
cy of multiple star-systems in the exoplanet
host systems found by Kepler 2 (K2) and
TESS; In 2019, PI Steve Howell (NASA Ames)
will replace DSSI with a new speckle imager,
Zorro (“Fox” in Spanish). Additionally, recent
results from Gemini Planet Imager (GPI), and
plans for improving GPI’s sensitivity and ca-
pabilities, will be discussed at the Gemini
AAS Open House.
Meanwhile, Gemini’s high-resolution spec-
troscopic capabilities are also expanding.
The visiting instrument MAROON-X (PI Ja-
cob Bean, University of Chicago) is on track
for commissioning this year at Gemini North.
MAROON-X will provide the US community
with a state-of-the-art fiber-fed spectro-
graph with a resolving power of R = 80,000
at 0.5-0.9 microns, capable of ~ 1 meter/sec-
ond exoplanet radial velocity measurements
for late-type M dwarfs.
January 2019
By the end of 2019, we also expect to begin
commissioning at Gemini South on the new
Gemini High-resolution Optical SpecTro-
graph (GHOST) — a facility instrument with
high-throughput, high spectral resolution
(R
~
50-75,000) and continuous coverage
between 0.36-0.95 microns. GHOST’s world-
class efficiency, resolution, wavelength cov-
erage, and stability will enable a broad range
of science by the Gemini community, includ-
ing exoplanet characterization, radial veloc-
ity studies of TESS exoplanet transits, and
high-resolution stellar population spectro-
scopic studies.
For more details on high-resolution spec-
troscopy at Gemini, please attend the AAS
Winter 2019 meeting splinter session Resur-
gence of High-resolution Spectroscopy at
Gemini.
We look forward to seeing many of you in Se-
attle, Washington, at the AAS Winter Meeting
2019 at our booth, Open House, and splin-
ter sessions, and at the Korea Gemini User’s
Meeting in Daejeon in February.
May the new year bring clear skies, good see-
ing, and many new scientific discoveries.
Jennifer Lotz is the Gemini Observatory Director.
She can be reached at: [email protected]
GeminiFocus
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