at least for now, the ability to do mid-infrared
observations from either Gemini site. However, within the constraints of the 4+AO operations model, the STAC judged the Gemini
Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS, plus the
GRACES fiber feed), Gemini Near-Infrared
Spectrometer (GNIRS), Near-infrared IntegralField Spectrograph (NIFS), and Near-infrared
Imager and Spectrometer (NIRI) in the North
and GMOS, FLAMINGOS-2, GPI, and Gemini
South Adaptive Optics Imager (GSAOI) in the
South as the instruments that will have the
highest science impact and most demand
from the partner communities.
One consequence of the current tight budget
predictions is that the observatory, STAC, and
community all should be looking for creative
new ways of using existing resources. An excellent example of this is the newly-commissioned Laser Guide Star (LGS) mode (LGS+P1)
on Gemini North (see: www.gemini.edu/sciops/instruments/altair/lgs-p1-quotsuper-seeingquot-mode).
The earlier Altair-LGS
system was limited
in its sky coverage by
the need for a bright
enough star to fall
within the tip-tilt sensor’s modest patrol
field and therefore
many targets could
not be observed because of the lack of a
near enough tip-tilt
star. In LGS+P1 the
peripheral wavefront
sensor (PWFS1 or P1)
with its much wider
patrol field is used to
observe a tip-tilt star,
thus enabling nearly
100 percent sky coverage with LGS. This
capability
significantly expands the
targets possible with
Altair and is expected to be particularly
useful for programs
using NIFS. Another
example is the possibility of commissioning a mode using
GMOS-S behind the
Canopus Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Op-
The STAC has
begun working
on draft
instrumentation
scenarios based on
coming decisions.
Shown here are
two example
scenarios that
highlight some
of the potential
follow-on impacts
of th