Successful Shutdown at Gemini North
February 4th, 2013
Science Operations Announcements
Latest GeMS/GSAOI commissioning and SV run completed
February 4th, 2013
The latest commissioning and system verification (SV) run for the Gemini Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics System (GeMS) with the Gemini South Adaptive Optics Imager (GSAOI) ended on Saturday, February 2. During this run, the team completed six SV programs and made good progress on another three. In optimal seeing, the first diffraction ring has been visible on point sources, and even in poor seeing, the AO correction is excellent. The next GeMS/GSAOI run is scheduled to start in late February.
Shorter Gemini North shutdown now
January 23rd, 2013
Freezing over the weekend caused damage to some of the water lines inside the coating chamber and some associated equipment, so the
Gemini North primary mirror recoating will be delayed until mid-year. We will have a shorter shutdown now, for work on the acquisition and guiding unit, GMOS-N, and Altair, getting back to science on February 1. The semester schedule has been updated.
Gemini North primary mirror recoating will be delayed until mid-year. We will have a shorter shutdown now, for work on the acquisition and guiding unit, GMOS-N, and Altair, getting back to science on February 1. The semester schedule has been updated.
Gemini South Observing database offline January 8
January 3rd, 2013
The Gemini South observing database will be offline for several hours (approximately 9am - 1pm Chilean time) on Tuesday January 8 while we perform hardware upgrades. During this time the Observing Tool fetch/store and file transfers will be unavailable and web report forms will be offline. Please check this site for further announcements.
GS observing database connection problems
January 2nd, 2013
The connection to the Gemini South observing database is currently intermitent and slow. This is due to problems with network hardware stemming from a power outage on December 31. This may affect fetch/store operations with the Observing Tool. If you experience problems, then please try again later.
Staff from Cerro Tololo and Gemini are working to restore normal network connectivity.
2013A Programs and Schedule Announced
December 17th, 2012
The Gemini 2013A observing programs have now been announced. Successful PIs will receive email notification on December 17 2012. Please check the schedules page for more information. Note that the new Observing Tool must be used to access and update 13A programs.
Beta version of the Gemini IRAF package released (v1.12beta)
December 13th, 2012
A beta version of the Gemini IRAF package (v1.12beta) has been released. This version is required for processing GSAOI data and includes configuration files and examples. Please see the pre-releases page for more information.
2013A Observing Tool released. Now in 32- and 64-bit.
December 10th, 2012
The new version of the Gemini Observing Tool (2013A.1.1.1) is now available for download or via updating an existing installation of the OT. Note that there are two Linux versions, one for 32-bit and one for 64-bit CPUs. Please choose the one appropriate for your computer.
This update is required to communicate with the observing databases.
2013A Observing Tool released
December 6th, 2012
The new version of the Gemini Observing Tool (2013A.1.1.1) is now available for
download
or via updating an existing installation of the OT.
This update is required to communicate with the observing databases.
Observing databases offline Dec 5
December 4th, 2012
The Gemini observing databases will be offline for several hours on Wednesday December 5 while we perform quarterly software updates at both the South and North facilities. During this time the Observing Tool fetch/store and file transfers will be unavailable and web report forms will be offline. The 2013A Observing Tool should be available on Thursday December 6 and will be required for all subsequent fetch/store operations. Please check this site for further announcements.