But Wait…
See What 2015 Will Bring!
Starting in January, the long-awaited, and
unique to Gemini, Fast Turnaround program
begins (view here). For the first six months,
we will test this mode with 10 percent of
Gemini North’s time. Once the program is
well established, the plan is to expand the
mode by offering it at both telescopes. Fast
Turnaround programs will allow our users to
submit proposals every month and receive
data as early as six weeks after proposal submission. We very much look forward to the
impact that this innovative mode will have
on our users around the world!
In 2015, you, our users, will also have the opportunity to contribute directly to the future
of Gemini. We encourage you to attend the
“Future & Science of Gemini Observatory”
meeting in Toronto (Ontario, Canada), from
June 14th-18th. In addition to science presenta-tions, we are planning multiple discussions about Gemini’s future and will present
the results of the feasibility studies for our
next facility-class instrument. Don’t miss this
op-portunity to be heard.
Invitations for the second round of Large
and Long programs will also be solicited in
2015. Letters of Intent are due in early February, so watch the Gemini homepage for an
announcement, or be sure to get the latest
news by subscribing to Gemini’s monthly
e-newscast for users here. Both priority visitor observing, as well as the “Bring One, Get
One” scheme, will continue to be offered in
2015 — for Large and Long programs, as
well as for regular ones.
We also look forward to expanding our range
of instruments. In particular, we are delighted
to offer high-resolution spectroscopy again
in 2015B. Tests with GRACES (Gemini Remote
Access to CFHT ESPaDOnS Spectrograph,
our demonstrator link to the Canada-France-
2
GeminiFocus
Hawaii Telescope’s high-resolution spectrograph) were successful, and, in the Mauna
Kea collaborative spirit, we came to an agreement with CFHT to access ESPaDOnS via our
300-meter fiber. (See details here.)
This being said, progress on our new highresolution spectrograph, GHOST, is moving
rapidly forward; with its preliminary design
study concluded in the week of December
15th, it is expected to arrive at Gemini by the
end of 2016. Furthermore, the Principal Investigators of our two visiting instruments
in 2014 — the Differential Speckle Survey
Instrument, and the Texas Echelon Cross
Echelle Spectrograph — announced interest
in returning; their in-struments will significantly enhance the capabilities we can offer
to our users.
Finally, Gemini is not only “Exploring the
Universe” but also ”Sharing its Wonders.”
Our flagship annual local outreach program
in Chile, Viaje al Universo, concluded a very
successful week of activities in October,
with thousands of residents, teachers, and
students in attendance. Preparations for
the long-running Hawai‘i version, Journey
through the Universe, are now ramping up
for its 11th year. If you are in Hilo during the
week of March 2nd, please contact Janice
Harvey ([email protected]) and find out
how you can participate.
Not only are we looking back at a productive
year 2014, but we are very excited about all
the remarkable things to come in 2015!
Markus Kissler-Patig is Gemini’s Director. He can
be reached at: [email protected]
2014 Year in Review
January 2015