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2011A 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 2011A.

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. In 2011A instrument access to ports is especially complex at Gemini South, due to planned engineering and commissioning of GSAOI and Flamingos-2.


 

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. In addition in 2011A, NIRI will be unavailable in June and July while it undergoes repair and refurbishment, and so this instrument has stricter RA limits. Michelle will most likely only be available for two short periods at the start and end of the semester, depending on demand.

 


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,
NIRI
7h to 18h 4h to 7h,
18h to 20h
20h to 4h
**GMOS MOS programs requiring pre-imaging should not have targets in this region. 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 2011A. 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


All instruments are restricted for sky visibility as described in the Table and Figure below. In addition in 2011A, Phoenix is not offered. It is possible that access will need to be restricted for NICI and T-ReCS once the engineering schedule is known and the demand is determined at the International Time Allocation Committee meeting.

 


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
**GMOS MOS programs requiring pre-imaging should not have targets in this region. 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 2011A. 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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