tics (MCAO) bench. While observations would
be limited to wavelengths > ~ 850 nanometers (nm), the correction achieved across the
field of GMOS is very impressive (see: http://
www.gemini.edu/sciops/instruments/gems/
gems-news).
The STAC has also been considering midand longer-term instrumentation plans. The
next new instrument to be built for Gemini
is planned to be the Gemini High-resolution
Optical Spectrograph (GHOS). Currently three
teams are working on Conceptual Design
Studies and a down-select was held in late
May to decide which team(s) will be funded
to proceed with work on a preliminary design. Depending on the design, GHOS may be
available for commissioning as soon as 2016.
The STAC has begun discussing the scientific
justifications for deciding whether GHOS is
best mounted in the North or the South and
has generated two strawman instrument scenarios based on whether GHOS goes North
or South (see Figure 1). An additional factor
in this decision is the impact on other instrumentation under the 4 + AO model — to install GHOS requires removing an instrument
from that site. The decision of which hemisphere to place GHOS will need to be made
by late 2013 or early 2014.
The funding for GHOS and other future instruments and upgrades comes from the
Instrument Development Fund (IDF), which
is funded on a best-effort basis by the partners. Thus, there is uncertainty regarding how
much instrumentation funding will be available over the remainder of the decade. This
uncertainty factors into the STAC’s discussions and requires a careful balance to ensure
that the observatory achieves as much as possible of the ambitions of its user community,
but also does not embark on projects it does
not have a high probability of completing. In
the 2012-2020 timeframe, the IDF can likely
fund 1-2 instruments beyond GHOS and several upgrades to existing instruments.
38
GeminiFocus
Given the uncertainty in how much of the
IDF will be required for GHOS and the limited
number of new instruments that can be built
in the near future, the STAC is carefully considering what the next instrument capability
after GHOS should be and gathering input
from a variety of sources, including the recent
white papers submissions.
Looking further out to 2020-2025, the STAC is
developing its input to Gemini’s long-range
planning process. Toward this long-range
planning, the STAC is developing a list of the
key questions that need to be answered and
a timeline of when decisions will need to be
made concerning new instrumentation, upgrades to existing instrumentation, and future instrument retirements.
The goal of the STAC is to give as much leadtime notification to the community of when
and how a decision will be made as possible.
The STAC wants to ensure that the community has as much time as possible to give input
on pending decisions and avoid (as much as
possible) situations where users are surprised
by decisions, such as the retirement of an instrument with little or no advance notice.
The STAC itself takes input from a variety of
sources, including community surveys, solicited and unsolicited white papers, meetings
such as the upcoming Gemini Science & User
Meeting (www.gemini.edu/gsm12), and individual discussions with community members
like you. I encourage you to contact your STAC
representative or myself with comments and
questions. Your input is important for the
STAC to hear. The STAC’s next biannual meeting will be October 29-30, 2012, with members participating from both the Hilo and La
Serena Base Facilities.
Henry G. Roe is an astronomer at Lowell Observatory and Chair of the Gemini STAC. He can be
reached at: [email protected]
June2012