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2012B Instrument Availability and Target Accessibility

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This page provides best estimates, at the time of the Call for Proposals, of instrument availability and target (RA, dec) restrictions for 2012B.

Instrument Changes

As there are more instruments than the number of available ports on each telescope, instrument swaps will be required. Therefore not all instruments will be available for the entire semester. When possible instrument swaps will be scheduled to minimize impact on the queue and instrument swaps will be driven by demand. Hence the final schedule will not be made until after the semester programs are known. It may be the case that certain targets or entire programs will not be feasible once the final schedule is determined, at ITAC or thereafter. If an instrument is requested for less than 6% of the Bands 1+2 time, the Observatory reserves the right to limit the RA range available to programs, or to not schedule the instrument. During classical runs, no instrument changes on the Instrument Support Structure are permitted.



 

Gemini North Instrument Availability and Target Accessibility


All instruments are restricted for sky visibility as described in the Table and Figure below. Observations requiring the Laser Guide Star (LGS) system are further restricted by the limitation that the LGS must be used at or above 40 degrees elevation. How this translates into RA and dec restrictions is indicated in the Table. At Gemini North, Michelle will most likely only be available for one or two short periods. GNIRS will be offline for maintenance and upgrade work in 2012, and will only be available for the last two months of the semester - December 2012 and January 2013. The Table below lists the resulting restriction on RA for this instrument.

 


Accessible Restricted** Inaccessible
Declination,
non-LGS
-30d to +73d -37d to -30d,
+73d to +90d
< -37d
Declination,
LGS
-22d to +65d -27d to -22d,
+65d to +68d
< -27d and > +68d
Right Ascension,
non-LGS
19h to 11h 17h to 19h,
11h to 13.5h
13.5h to 17h
Right Ascension,
LGS
20h to 10h 18h to 20h,
10h to 12.5h
12.5h to 18h
GNIRS Right Ascension
2h to 11h 0h to 2h,
11h to 13.5h
13.5h to 0h

**Due to limited sky availability during the semester, GMOS MOS programs requiring pre-imaging should not have targets in this region, and other programs with targets in this region should not require a large amount of time, or have strict timing or observing constraints.

 

GN Target Accessibility

Figure 1: Schematic representation of target accessibility at Gemini North during semester 2012B. Green regions offer unrestricted access, red regions are inaccessible. Hatched areas indicate the more restricted LGS regions. The yellow region is possible, but restricted. See text, and values in the Table above.


 

Gemini South Instrument Availability and Target Accessibility


Only GMOS-South and NICI are offered in this Call, due to the demand on instrument ports, and the ongoing instrument commissioning. All instruments are restricted for sky visibility as described in the Table and Figure below. NICI will most likely be displaced by FLAMINGOS-2 during the second half of the semester, however its availability will be matched to demand to the extent possible. T-ReCS is not offered in 2012B, however if it remains mounted at the start of the semester it will be eligible for Director's Discretionary programs. FLAMINGOS-2 and GSAOI are expected to be available for System Verification only in 2012B, in the second half of the semester.

 


Accessible Restricted** Inaccessible
Declination -87d to +22d -90d to -87d,
+22d to +28d
> +28d
Right Ascension 19h to 9h 16h to 19h,
9h to 12h
12h to 16h

**Due to limited sky availability during the semester, GMOS MOS programs requiring pre-imaging should not have targets in this region, and other programs with targets in this region should not require a large amount of time, or have strict timing or observing constraints.

 

 

GS Target Accessibility

Figure 2: Schematic representation of target accessibility at Gemini South during semester 2012B. Green regions offer unrestricted access, red regions are inaccessible. The yellow region is possible, but restricted. See text, and values in the Table above.

 




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