ings that prevented its use for creating masks
for both GMOS instruments. In a concerted
effort, the code was recently made less instrument-dependent. This fix also paves the
way for mask creation for the MOS mode of
the near-infrared FLAMINGOS-2 instrument,
commissioning of which will begin this year.
At the same time, all user interfaces were
made more transparent and user friendly. A
series of internal consistency checks minimizes the number of submitted faulty mask
designs, and a comprehensive user manual
is available. All in all, this amounts to a significant overhaul for GMMPS, making it a
more effective and user-friendly tool for
mask creation (Figures 4-5)..
Figures 4-5.
Top: A final mask design
overlaid over a GMOS-S
pre-image. The large
green rectangle displays
the detector area where
spectra are recorded.
The thick red polygon
indicates the field-ofview within which slits
(small yellow vertical
bars) may be placed.
The spectral footprints
are shown as filled
horizontal rectangles.
Bottom: The user
interface that controls
which elements are
shown in the pre-image
display. It also shows
the number of valid
acquisition stars and
issues warnings if spectra
are truncated by the
finite detector geometry.
July 2015
GeminiFocus
13