GeminiFocus October 2015 | Page 4

Services”, as a reliable and very cost-effective solution. Watch for the launch! The second innovation — the Fast Turnaround mode (view here) — is more of an expansion; the program, which we introduced in January at Gemini North, extends now to Gemini South. We used the first months of 2015 as a pilot study in order to debug the process. As the machinery now runs flawlessly, it’s time to offer these monthly deadlines to our users at both telescopes. Your proposals will be collected and evaluated together for both facilities. As with Gemini North, we will grant up to 20 hours of observing time on Gemini South every month. Base Facility Operations and More! Just around the corner is another exciting milestone: As this issue goes to e-press, our Base Facility Operations project is undergoing nighttime testing at Gemini North; we are now on track to observe from Hilo (without anyone on the summit) before the end of the year. But no worries, we still welcome visiting astronomers and their students to visit the summit during the day — when coming to observe from the comfort of our Base Facility at night! Speaking of infrastructure… as the Gemini Observatory ages, we need to keep our facilities up to date. In fact, we are using this opportunity not only to prevent obsolescence but also to go green as we implement a number of energy saving measures. A spectacular example is the record-breaking installation of photovoltaic panels on Gemini North on Maunakea (see story on page 28). Photovoltaic systems are already being prepared for the Hilo Base Facility and Gemini South on Cerro Pachón, as well. signed as I write. The partners are committing funding contributions for the period 2016 to 2021. As readers of GeminiFocus, you probably already know that Australia could not commit funds over the entire period — h