We’re pleased to include a guaranteed minimum number of Subaru nights (five) under
the recently formalized exchange program.
The table that follows shows instruments offered at Gemini North and South in 2013B.
vember for an upgrade to the CCDs and
other maintenance work.
• GeMS+GSAOI: multi-conjugate AO system
+ 1-2 micron imager with 1.5 arcminute
field-of-view, up to 150 hours available between September and January.
North
• All instruments available in queue or classical mode, except the visitor instruments
and the Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics
System, which are queue mode only.
• Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS):
workhorse visible-wavelength imager /
spectrometer / MOS /Integral Field Unit
(IFU), available all semester.
• Gemini Near-infrared Spectrograph (GNIRS):
popular 1-5 micron long-slit and cross-dispersed spectrometer with a limited imaging
mode, available from mid-August.
• Near-infrared Integral Field Spectrometer
(NIFS): available all semester.
• Near-infrared Imager (NIRI): 1-5 micron imager, available all semester.
• DSSI/Speckle: visiting diffraction-limited
visible-wavelength imager, available for
up to 110 hours during July and August
bright time.
• TEXES: visiting extremely high-resolution
mid-IR spectrometer, available for up to 110
hours in October bright time.
South
• All instruments available in queue mode
only, except for GMOS-South, which can be
queue or classical.
The Gemini North Shutdown
The delivery of science results to the Gemini
community relies heavily on two components
of the telescope: the primary mirror, and the
acquisition and guidance (A&G) unit (Figure1).
The A&G unit has improved in reliability over
the years due to work done by engineering staff and because of this the frequency
of “A&G unit shutdowns” is now reduced to
once-annually.
The shutdown scheduled for January 2013 included both normal maintenance on the A&G
unit and a recoating of the primary mirror.
However, a spell of extremely cold weather
caused the cancellation of the coating activity (when the massive coating plant incurred
freezing damage); the primary will now be
coated in 2013B (schedule pending).
The rest of the maintenance was carried out
as planned. Some major safety improvements were made in both the A&G unit and
GMOS-N, reacting to mechanical problems
encountered in recent semesters. Key elements performed included:
• Maintenance on the primary mirror cover
mechanism.
• Installation of a skew sensor on the science
fold linear drive (to avoid a recurrence of the
fault that cost significant time-loss at Gemini South in 2011)
• FLAMINGOS-2: 1-2.5 micron imager, longslit spectrometer, and MOS, available all semester in imaging and long-slit modes only
on shared-risk basis.
• Installation of a new gear box on the science
fold mirror drive.
• GMOS-South: workhorse visible-wavelength imager / spectrometer / MOS / IFU,
may not be available in October and No-
• Installation of vibration-monitoring accelerometers on both the science and AO fold
mirrors.
April2013
GeminiFocus
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