SCORPIO : OCTOCAM ’ s New Name
OCTOCAM , Gemini ’ s new workhorse imager and spectrograph , that will fulfill the needs of a large number of research areas in the 2020s , has a new name : SCORPIO , which stands for Spectrograph and Camera for Observations of Rapid Phenomena in the Infrared and Optical . In the words of project Principal Investigator Massimo Robberto , “ This new name captures the capabilities of the innovative and powerful future Instrument , operating over a very broad wavelength range from the visible to near-infrared light .” The instrument also features both imaging and spectroscopic capabilities , as well as fast readout modes .
July 2018
Scorpio is Latin for “ scorpion ,” a primarily nocturnal invertebrate , which , like the number of channels ( wavelength windows ) available on the instrument , has eight legs . Scorpio is also the eighth sign of the zodiac , represented in the night sky by Scorpius the Scorpion — a constellation that , in the winter , passes overhead at the Gemini South telescope facility where it will be used .
This name change coincides with the instrument ’ s development moving into its Critical Design stage in May of this year . The project remains both on budget and on schedule ; it is slated for commissioning in 2022 .
What ’ s New with Visiting Instruments ?
IGRINS , a visiting cross-dispersed immersion grating near-infrared spectrometer provided by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute ( KASI ) and University of Texas Austin ( UT Austin ) has proven extremely popular . This powerful and unique instrument , which can obtain both broad spectral coverage ( from 1.45 to 2.5 microns in a single exposure ) and high spectral resolu-
GeminiFocus
Figure 3 . Visiting instrument team members at Gemini . Clockwise from top left .
Brian Chinn ( Gemini ), Lindsey Magill ( Gemini ; in background ), and Mark Everett ( NOAO ) observe with DSSI at Gemini South .
Rachel Matson ( NASA ) installs ‘ Alopeke at Gemini North .
From left to right : Jae-Joon Lee ( KASI ), Heeyoung Oh ( UT Austin ), Pablo Prado ( Gemini ), Hwihyun Kim ( Gemini ), Pablo Candia ( Gemini ), and Kimberly Sokal ( UT Austin ), get first light with IGRINS at the Gemini South Base Facility .
Heeyoung Oh ( UT Austin ; at left ) and Greg Mace ( UT Austin ), perform connectivity tests with IGRINS at Gemini South .
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SCORPIO: OCTOCAM’s
New Name
OCTOCAM, Gemini’s new workhorse imager
and spectrograph, that will fulfill the needs
of a large number of research areas in the
2020s, has a new name: SCORPIO, which
stands for Spectrograph and Camera for Ob-
servations of Rapid Phenomena in the Infra-
red and Optical. In the words of project Prin-
cipal Investigator Massimo Robberto, “This
new name captures the capabilities of the
innovative and powerful future Instrument,
operating over a very broad wavelength
range from the visible to near-infrared light.”
The instrument also features both imaging
and spectroscopic capabilities, as well as
fast readout modes.
Scorpio is Latin for “scorpion,” a primar-
ily nocturnal invertebrate, which, like the
number of channels (wavelength windows)
available on the instrument, has eight legs.
Scorpio is also the eighth sign of the zodiac,
represented in the night sky by Scorpius the
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