Gemini News Archive
Gemini Observatory to Advance Adaptive Optics and Multi-messenger Astronomy with NSF Award
Press Release | 2018 September 20
New funding from the National Science Foundation will enable the international Gemini Observatory to advance its position at the forefront of the new era of “multi-messenger astronomy” by enhancing its scientific capabilities in high-resolution and rapid-response astronomy.
GeMS “SERVS” Up Sharp Views of Young Galaxies in Early Universe
Web Feature | 2018 September 19
Multi-conjugate adaptive optics technology at Gemini South reveals that young galaxies, with large amounts of star formation, and actively growing central black holes, were relatively compact in the early Universe.
Dr. Jennifer Lotz Appointed Gemini Observatory Director
Press Release | 2018 September 6
The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Jennifer Lotz as the next Director of the Gemini Observatory. Dr. Lotz begins a five-year appointment as Gemini Director starting October 1, 2018. Previously, Dr. Lotz held the position of associate astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI).
Gemini Confirms the Most Distant Radio Galaxy
Web Feature | 2018 August 27
Using the Gemini North telescope in Hawai`i, an international team of astronomers from Brazil, Italy, the Netherlands, and the UK has discovered the most distant radio galaxy to date, at 12.5 billion light years, when the Universe was just 7% of its current age.
Astronomers Blown Away by Historic Stellar Blast
Press Release | 2018 August 2
Observations from the Gemini South and other telescopes in Chile played a critical role in understanding light echoes from a stellar eruption which occurred almost 200 years ago. Gemini spectroscopy shows that ejected material from the blast is the fastest ever seen from a star that remained intact.
Republic of Korea Becomes a Full Participant in Gemini
Press Release | 2018 July 24
The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) signed an agreement that established the Republic of Korea as a full Participant in the Gemini Observatory.
Gemini Confirms Maverick New Moon of Jupiter
Web Feature | 2018 July 17
Scientists announced the discovery of 12 new moons orbiting the planet Jupiter, including one that orbiting in the opposite direction from others of its ilk, which was confirmed by Gemini GMOS observations.
Elusive Intermediate Mass Black Hole Revealed by Cosmic Belch
Web Feature | 2018 July 9
The frustrating search for intermediate mass black holes is advancing thanks to Gemini observations of a “belch” which escaped when a black hole devoured a star.
Can Exoplanets Form in a Binary Star System?
Web Feature | 2018 May 31
A new study using DSSI on both Gemini telescopes reveals that the ratio of binary stars in Kepler’s K2 exoplanet host stars is similar to that found elsewhere in our neighborhood of the Milky Way.
Gemini Observatory Cloud Camera Captures Volcano’s Dramatic Glow
Press Release | 2018 May 22
A camera used at the Gemini North telescope to monitor sky conditions from Hawaii’s Maunakea captured a remarkable time-lapse sequence of the Kīlauea volcanic eruption.
Massive Cluster Galaxies Move in Unexpected Ways
Web Feature | 2018 May 3
Astronomers using data from GMOS-North and GMOS-South) measured the motions of stars within a sample of BCGs and found the stellar motions inconsistent with these galaxies’ solitary cousins.
What Do Uranus’s Cloud Tops Have in Common With Rotten Eggs?
Press Release | 2018 April 23
Based on sensitive spectroscopic observations with the Gemini North telescope, astronomers uncovered the noxious gas swirling high in Uranus’s cloud tops.
Dark Matter is a No Show in Ghostly Galaxy
Press Release | 2018 March 28
Astronomers using data from the Gemini and W. M. Keck Observatories in Hawai‘i have encountered a galaxy that appears to have almost no dark matter. “...This is a game changer,” according to Principal Investigator Pieter van Dokkum of Yale University.
Shining Light on Dim Galactic Neighbors
Web Feature | 2018 February 19
The researchers exposed the identities of three ultra-faint dwarf galaxy candidates using the Gemini South telescope. They reports that the objects appear to be loose clusters of stars, not dwarf galaxies as some had previously believed.
Game Over for Supernovae Hide & Seek
Web Feature | 2018 January 12
A research team, using the Gemini South telescope, concludes that the majority of core collapse supernovae, exploding in luminous infrared galaxies, have previously not been found due to dust obscuration and poor spatial resolution.
The Birth of Massive Stars Around an Unlikely Galaxy
Web Feature | 2017 December 18
Using the Gemini South telescope, researchers extracted spectra from extremely faint optical sources which they determined are nurseries of massive stars around an elliptical galaxy.
Supermassive Black Hole is Ahead of its Time
Press Release | 2017 December 6
Observations reveal the mass of earliest known supermassive black hole which radiates from an era in the universe only 690 million years after the Big Bang. Researchers, using unique spectroscopic data from Gemini Near-Infrared Spectrograph (GNIRS) on Gemini North determined its mass at a whopping 800 million times the mass of our Sun.
Gemini Observations Show Distant Black Hole Pair is “Photobombing” Culprit
Web Feature | 2017 November 29
Gemini observations played a critical role inidentifing an object which appears to be “photobombing” the Andromeda Galaxy. Rather than being a binary star system within the neighboring Andromeda Galaxy, the object is really a distant galaxy containing a supermassive black hole binary.
First Known Interstellar Visitor is an “Oddball”
Press Release | 2017 November 20
After the object was discovered by Pan-STARRS1 on Haleakala, both Gemini telescopes observed ‘Oumuamua for three nights as it quickly dimmed from view. Researchers found that despite its interstellar origin, the object is similar in composition to some objects in our Solar System but its shape is unlike anything found around our Sun.
Gemini Observatory Confirms Spiral Nature of Extremely Distant Lensed Galaxy
Press Release | 2017 November 3
Gemini North’s NIFS has confirmed the spiral nature of the most distant known spiral galaxy (A1689B11) by far through gravitational lensing.
