Jennifer Lotz
Director’s Message
New Arrivals, Conflict, and the Road Ahead
I’m excited to report the October 1st official launch of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF’s)
National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory! Gemini Observatory will join with
the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) operations and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Ob-
servatory, Kitt Peak National Observatory, and the Community Science and Data Center, to cre-
ate a new center for NSF’s ground-based optical/infrared astronomy observations and data
services. I’m equally pleased to welcome Patrick McCarthy as our new Director of the National
Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory. Pat comes to the position after serving as
Vice President of the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization and an astronomer at the Carn-
egie Institution for Science. We are very fortunate to have Pat’s excellent leadership and scien-
tific experience as we move forward into this new era. Pat is enthusiastic about working with
Gemini and our international Partnership.
We should also welcome a new visitor to our Solar System — 2I/Borisov, the second confirmed
interstellar object and first observed interstellar comet, discovered by amateur astronomer
Gennady Borisov on August 30, 2019. On the night of September 9-10, the Gemini Multi-Object
Spectrograph (GMOS) at the Gemini North telescope was able to capture multi-color images
of the comet and its tail for a Director’s Discretionary Time program led by Piotr Guzik at the
Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. Estimates of 2I/Borisov’s orbital path predict that
it is on its way into our Solar System, and will continue to brighten over the coming months.
Needless to say, Gemini Observatory and astronomers around the world will be following its
progress closely.
Fortunately, 2I/Borisov waited until Gemini’s telescopes were back on-sky to make its appear-
ance. For much of July and August, both Gemini North and Gemini South were offline due to
planned engineering maintenance. At both telescopes, work included replacing parts of our
October 2019
GeminiFocus
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