Figure 3.
Gemini assistant
scientist Hwihyun Kim
describes the sequence
of events at Gemini
during the gravitational
wave event in a video
clip viewable here.
Credit: Gemini
Observatory
Gemini Observatory Interim Director Laura
Ferrarese recounts the challenges faced by
the flood of requests for observations once
the source was pinpointed. “Several teams
contacted us with requests to observe the
source,” according to Ferrarese. “Everybody
at Gemini was terribly excited: we all knew
that we were witnessing a historical event!”
Ferrarese adds that the greatest challenge
involved scheduling the observations so
that all of the teams would receive the data
they needed — a task that, in her words,
“required lots of coordination, and a good
dose of diplomacy!”
The challenges extended to the observations
themselves, according to Gemini astrono-
mer Hwihyun Kim, who was instrumental in
obtaining the Gemini data which primarily
used the FLAMINGOS-2 infrared imager and
spectrograph. “We were very lucky with ob-
serving this target,” says Kim. “It was not al-
ways easy to see the source, but the field had
24
GeminiFocus
a very bright star that helped our pointing
even when the object was getting lost in the
glow of twilight.” Kim adds that everyone in
the control room was nervous as the obser-
vation window got shorter and shorter each
night. “Each night we pointed the telescope
until we hit the absolute lowest limit that the
telescope could reach.” (See interview of Kim
on the online version of the release.)
“Gemini’s unique combination of depth and
high-cadence through the hard work of staff
like Kim have generated a totally unique
data set for this fascinating event,” says Na-
thaniel Butler from Arizona State University,
and also part of the team with Troja and
Cenko. Butler concludes, “The Gemini obser-
vations will provide a critical perspective on
gravitational waves for years to come.”
Peter Michaud is the Public Information Out-
reach Manager of Gemini Observatory. He can
be reached at: [email protected]
January 2018 / 2017 Year in Review