GeminiFocus January 2017 | Page 15

first night of observing entirely from the La Serena Base Facility ( Figure 1 ).
There are two instrument exceptions to BFO from La Serena : 1 ) the Gemini Multi-conjugate adaptive optics System / Gemini South Adaptive Optics Imager , for which we anticipate a new laser delivery in 2017 ( and therefore we deferred the BFO safety interlock work until that new system is in place ); and 2 ) the visiting instrument Phoenix , for which at least one subsystem required manual intervention ( and therefore was run from the summit in December 2016 ).
Visiting Instruments
The increase in visiting instruments at Gemini continues . Both Phoenix ( Figure 2 ) and the Differential Speckle Survey Instrument ( DSSI ) spent time on Gemini South in 2016A , and Phoenix returned to Chile in December . Phoenix suffered very badly from the dreadful weather in Chile in 2016A , but as this issue goes to press , the weather at Gemini South has improved . In 2017A both DSSI and Phoenix return to Gemini South , while the Texas Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph ( TEXES ) mid-infrared instrument visits Gemini North .
We look forward to even more visiting instruments at Gemini in the near future . To learn more about our visitor instrument program , view Gemini ’ s Visitor Instrument page here .
Gemini Prepares for the Large Synoptic Survey Era
Gemini is and will likely be a key facility for following up interesting targets discovered in large , time-domain surveys . We are currently working hard to prepare Gemini for the era of massive synoptic surveys such as the Zwicky Transient Facility ( ZTF ) and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope ( LSST ). New instrument development at Gemini , such as the Gemini High-resolution Optical SpecTrograph ( and especially Gen 4 # 3 ), will provide the needed spectroscopic capabilities . We are also planning to improve the software and systems for handling a larger volume of Target-of-Opportunity triggers . In an effort to better align ourselves and coordinate with the rest of the community , we have been participating in planning exercises ( such as the Maximizing Science in the Era of LSST workshop ) and discussing the development of prototype Target and Observation Manager systems with
Figure 2 . The Phoenix nearinfrared spectrometer during its run as a visitor instrument at Gemini South .
January 2017 GeminiFocus
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