l The December 2011 roll-out of the upgraded Phase II Observing Tool in time for use
by astronomers in semester 2012A: Our users had been clambering for years for this
improvement, and the OT team delivered.
The cries of pain from our users should now
have been silenced.
I will remember the wonderful people I’ve met and worked
with here at Gemini. This is a talented and dedicated group,
fully capable of transforming Gemini into the world-class
competitive observatory of the future. I feel honored to have
played any role in encouraging that transformation.
— Fred Chaffee
Gemini outgoing Interim Director
l The December recommissioning of the
Gemini Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics
System (GeMS) after a decade of effort
and a long five months of upgrades: Given
the complexity of this system, its success
within hours of its being reinstalled on the
telescope was absolutely stunning. The
“second light” image of NGC 288, a nearly
90-arcsecond field covered with thousands
of tiny pinprick (80 milliarcscond) stars,
captured the imagination of the world. It
was the largest area of night sky ever secured in a single adaptive optics observation. Congratulations to the GeMS team
poured in from all over.
With these successes, Christmas seemed to
arrive early, and the entire staff was justly
proud of this unprecedented burst of accomplishment.
l Gemini at the January 2012 meeting of the
American Astronomical Society in Austin,
Texas: 18 members of the Gemini staff attended the meeting and got to share the
excitement of their recent scientific and
technical successes with the community.
Gemini’s Town Hall meeting was called by
many “the most exciting in years,” and the
5
GeminiFocus
double-wide Gemini booth became a focal
point for users who wanted to chat with
staff and participate in data reduction and
observing planning tutorials — a memorable week for all.
l
The March 2012 GeMS commissioning
run at Gemini South: This activity brought
new excitement when, at the last minute,
GMOS-S had to replace the ailing Gemini
South Adaptive Optics Imager as the MultiConjugate Adaptive Optics detector. The
dazzling images that GeMS with GMOSS captured of the planetary nebula NGC
6369 and the galaxy Centaurus A once
again had the astronomy world agog.
Some highlights were daily, weekly, or scattered throughout the year:
l Daily visits with the Mauna Kea summit
crew: I was privileged to spend 5-10 minutes each work-day morning visiting with
the Mauna Kea crew before they departed
for the summit. Every day I gained even
more respect for the difficulty of their jobs
and of their dedication to Gemini. I’ll greatly miss my morning visits with “da guys.”
l
Frequent videoconfrence “visits” with the
observers, both north and south: The success of the night-time summit shift is what
we all work for; it is why we’re here. So it
has been gratifying to spend a few minutes chatting with our scientific and technical staff as they obtain the data on which
Gemini’s success ultimately depends.
l Meetings with various governing boards:
Gemini’s governance structure contains
an alphabet soup of boards, committees,
and councils: AOCG, AoBD, GBoD, GFC,
NGO, STAC, and the