Gemini News Archive
QUASAR’S BELCH SOLVES LONGSTANDING MYSTERY
Press Release | 2011 February 23
For the first time, observations with the Gemini Observatory clearly reveal an extreme, large-scale galactic outflow that brings the cosmic dinner to a halt.
AstroDay Chile and Journey through the Universe in La Serena
Web Feature | 2011 February 10
AstroDay Chile, which started as a mere handful of booths and kiosks from AURA observatories in 2005, has grown to host more than 17 institutions from Chile and beyond.
Gemini South Shines First Sodium Laser “Constellation”
Press Release | 2011 January 27
A new era in high-resolution astronomy began with the successful propagation of a 5-star sodium laser guide star "constellation" in the skies over Cerro Pachon in Chile.
2009 Collision with Jupiter - On the Rocks
Web Feature | 2011 January 26
After more than a year of studying the 2009 collision with Jupiter, a team's results indicate that the colliding body was rocky and not an icy comet like the last known collision with Jupiter.
On-sky Laser Propagation at Gemini South!
Web Feature | 2011 January 20
On the night of January 21-22, 2011 the Gemini South 50-watt laser began on-sky engineering testing and commissioning with its successful propagation into the sky over the summit of Cerro Pachón in Chile.
Astronomers 'Weigh' Heaviest Known Black Hole in our Cosmic Neighborhood
Press Release | 2011 January 14
Astronomers have measured the most massive known black hole in our cosmic neighborhood by combining data from a giant telescope in Hawai'i and a smaller telescope in Texas.
Helium Enhancement and the History of Omega Centauri
Web Feature | 2011 January 10
New work led by Andrea Dupree (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) now shows direct evidence for helium abundance variations—a sign of multiple histories—in the bright globular cluster Omega Centauri.
Gemini Hosts Workforce Diversity Meeting
Web Feature | 2010 December 14
On December 6-8, 2010 about a dozen representatives from AURA converged at Gemini’s base facility in Hilo, Hawai‘i to discuss a broad range of topics related to diversity in the workforce.
Jupiter Shows First Signs of its Returning Belt
Press Release | 2010 November 24
The composite image, taken on Nov. 18, 2010 by the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii, shows a belt that had previously vanished in Jupiter's atmosphere is now reappearing.
Characterizing a Methane Dwarf with a Dead Stellar Companion
Web Feature | 2010 November 23
The discovery of an unusual stellar system combined with Gemini North NIRI observations has allowed astronomers to confirm the spectral type of a cool methane dwarf and determine its temperature, mass, and age with confidence.
Tracing Elements to Measure the Age of a Star Cluster
Web Feature | 2010 November 5
Phillip Cargile (Vanderbilt University) and team take advantage of the time-dependent destruction of lithium in young stars to measure the age of the open cluster Blanco 1.
Gemini South's Mirror Glistens
Web Feature | 2010 October 13
A pristine new coat of protected silver now glistens on the Gemini South primary mirror (M1) as part of a routine shut-down on Cerro Pachón in Chile.
The Coolest Brown Dwarf: A Neighbor in Space
Web Feature | 2010 September 20
A team of astronomers have discovered what is currently the coldest star-like object. The object, called UGPS J0722-05, is also of particular interest because it is one of our closest neighbors.
WITHOUT A TRACE – A FLASH IN JUPITER'S SKY
Press Release | 2010 September 9
Amateur astronomers used high-speed, video-monitoring equipment to capture a fireball streaking through the atmosphere of Jupiter. Shortly thereafter, the world’s largest telescopes examined Jupiter for debris left behind.
Young Star Reveals “Mature” Debris Disk
Web Feature | 2010 August 27
Astronomers have used the Thermal-Region Camera Spectrograph (T-ReCS) on the Gemini South telescope to obtain the first resolved image of the debris disk around the 12 million year old star HD191089.
A Very Young Circumstellar Disk in Scattered Light
Web Feature | 2010 August 25
Recent observations with the Near-Infrared Imager (NIRI) on the Gemini North telescope have revealed the presence of a large circumstellar disk around the young embedded protostar L1527.
Evidence for Galaxy Interactions in Powerful Radio Galaxies
Web Feature | 2010 August 24
Cristina Ramos Almeida and collaborators obtained deep imaging data using the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) at the Gemini South telescope to study the morphologies of a complete sample of 46 intermediate redshift (0.05<z<0.7) PRGs.
Brown Dwarf Careens Around a Young Solar Analogue
Web Feature | 2010 July 23
Using NICI on the Gemini-South telescope in Chile, an international team led by University of Hawai‘i astronomers have directly imaged a brown dwarf in a tight orbit around a young Sun-like star.
Initial Scientific Results from NICI
Web Feature | 2010 July 2
The first two accepted papers based on observations with NICI at Gemini South include discoveries of several previously unknown companions in binary star systems as well as the study of the age distributions of stars in the outer regions of the galaxy M83.
FIRST DIRECTLY IMAGED PLANET CONFIRMED AROUND SUN-LIKE STAR
Press Release | 2010 June 24
A planet only about eight times the mass of Jupiter has been confirmed orbiting a Sun-like star at over 300 times farther from the star than the Earth is from our Sun. The newly confirmed planet is the least massive planet known to orbit at such a great distance from its host star.
