to archive its data in the commercial Cloud.
Now for the clincher: we achieved all of this
while operating with a fault downtime of
less than 4%!
Gemini is magnificently set-up to enable the
great science of the Gemini community in
the next years. But we do not want to stop
there. That is why the Gemini Board has recently kicked off a Strategic Vision Committee to explore what exciting role Gemini can
play beyond 2020 — such as interacting
closely with new observatories, in particular
those planned on Maunakea in Hawai‘i and
the Cerro Tololo/Pachón complex in Chile.
Stay tuned, as we ask both our stakeholders
and users to contribute ideas to this vision
exercise during 2016
Even More Positive News
We are also making good progress on our
two next facility-class instruments. GHOST,
our next high-resolution spectrograph, just
passed the first part of its Critical Design Review, and is on track to be commissioned by
the end of 2017/early 2018. As for the instrument after that (Gen4#3), its four feasibility
studies have concluded and the reports are
now public. Prepare for the full Call for Proposals in 2016 Q2.
We also now offer monthly Fast Turnaround
(FT) proposals for time on the Gemini South
telescope (in addition to Gemini North), and
the program is picking up fast in popularity. Also, the first peer-reviewed paper from
an FT proposal earlier this year is now published (see feature science article, page 3).
And, if you have not tasted our new archive
yet, it is fully functioning, and we welcome
feedback (see the article in this issue starting
on page 62).
Finally, we had another successful year of
Journey Through the Universe and Viaje al
Universo, our flagship outreach programs at
Gemini North and South (respectively). Our
staff contributed to many activities and were
rewarded by hundreds of smiles in the faces
of the attending children.
Overall, I believe that Gemini is in great shape
to face the coming years and beyond, when
we hope to offer more exciting opportunities than ever. Right now, the future certainly
looks exhilarating! Join us in “Exploring the
Universe, Sharing its Wonders.”
Markus Kissler-Patig is Gemini’s Director. He can
be reached at: [email protected]
On the operations front, the biggest news is
that base facility operations began at Gemini
North in November and nighttime staff is no
longer needed at the summit during observations. This is one step on the path to our final goal: Offering our users operations from
your favorite sofa, anywhere in the world.
2
GeminiFocus
2015 Year in Review
January 2016