2011A Instrument Availability and Target Accessibility
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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 |
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 |
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.