2010A 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 2010A.
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 2010A 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.
In 2010A Michelle, T-ReCS and possibly Phoenix will not be offered for the entire semester,
as described below in the Gemini North and South accessibility sections.
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
NIFS and Michelle share the up-looking port; NIFS will be available between March and June, and Michelle available in February and July only. Hence there are restrictions on the RAs available to Michelle, as given in the Table below. Observations requiring the Laser Guide Star (LGS) system are 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 below. All instruments are restricted for sky visibility as described in the Table and Figure below.
| |
Accessible | Restricted** | Inaccessible |
| Declination, non-LGS |
-30d to +73d | -37d to -30d, +73d to +79d |
< -37d and > +79d |
| Declination, LGS |
-22d to +65d | -27d to -22d, +65d to +68d |
< -27d and > +68d |
| Right Ascension, non-LGS |
7h to 22h | 4h to 7h, 22h to 1h |
1h to 4h |
| Right Ascension, LGS |
8h to 21h | 5h to 8h, 21h to 0h |
0h to 5h |
| Right Ascension, Michelle |
7h to 14h, 16h to 22h |
5h to 7h, 14h to 16h, 22h to 1h |
1h to 5h |
Figure 1: Schematic representation of target accessibility at Gemini North during semester 2010A. Green regions offer unrestricted access, red regions are inaccessible. Hatched areas indicate the more restricted LGS regions. The yellow region is possible, but restricted. Michelle has additional constraints. See text, and values in the Table above.
Gemini South Instrument Availability and Target Accessibility
T-ReCS and NICI share the up-looking port and T-ReCS will only be available during the drier months of April to July, with instrument swaps driven by demand. Hence there are restrictions on the RAs available to T-ReCS, as given in the Table below. Phoenix availability may be limited in the second half of the semester due to commissioning of MCAO/GSAOI. All instruments are restricted for sky visibility as described in the Table and Figure below.
| |
Accessible | Restricted** | Inaccessible |
| Declination | -87d to +22d | -89d to -87d, +22d to +28d |
< -89d and > +28d |
| Right Ascension | 7h to 23h | 5h to 7h, 23h to 2h |
2h to 5h |
| T-ReCS, RA | 9h to 23h | 8h to 9h, 23h to 2h |
2h to 8h |
Figure 2: Schematic representation of target accessibility at Gemini South during semester 2010A. Green regions offer unrestricted access, red regions are inaccessible. The yellow region is possible, but restricted. T-ReCS has additional constraints. See text, and values in the Table above.
