Figures 13-14.
Top: A final mask design
overlaid over a GMOS-S
pre-image. The large
green rectangle displays
the detector area where
spectra are recorded.
The thick red polygon
indicates the field-ofview within which slits
(small yellow vertical
bars) may be placed.
The spectral footprints
are shown as filled
horizontal rectangles.
Bottom: The user
interface that controls
which elements are
shown in the pre-image
display. It also shows
the number of valid
acquisition stars and
issues warnings if spectra
are truncated by the
finite detector geometry.
Mask-making Software
Updated
Multi-Object Spectroscopy (MOS) is in high
demand at both Gemini telescopes. Principal Investigators individually design the MOS
masks for each science program using the
Gemini Mask Making Preparation Software
(GMMPS). Once checked, the physical masks
are precisely cut using a laser milling machine
in Chile (shared between Gemini, Cerro-Tololo International Observatory, and the Southern Observatory for Astrophysical Research).
January 2016
After the installation of the new red-sensitive
Hamamatsu CCDs in GMOS-S, which have different geometries and pixel scales compared
to the detectors in GMOS-N, we recognized
that the GMMPS source code had significant
shortcomings that prevented its use for creating masks for both GMOS instruments. In a
concerted effort, the code was recently made
less instrument-dependent. This fix also paves
the way for mask creation for the MOS mode
of the near-infrared Flamingos-2 instrument,
commissioning of which will begin this year.
At the same time, all user interfaces were
2015 Year in Review
GeminiFocus
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