Gemini News Archive
Seeing Where Stars Collide
Press Release | 2015 June 15
Using the advanced adaptive optics system GeMS, on the Gemini South telescope, astronomers have imaged a beautiful stellar jewel-box – a tightly packed cluster of stars that is one of the few places in our galaxy where astronomers think stars can actually collide.
Discovery Harkens to Early Solar System
Web Feature | 2015 May 27
Using the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) at the Gemini South telescope in Chile, astronomers have discovered a young, emerging planetary system that shares remarkable similarities to our own Solar System in its infancy.
Star Pair’s Dusty Disk Shines Light on Planet Formation
Web Feature | 2015 April 2
Astronomers using the Gemini South telescope in Chile have discovered striking new evidence for planet formation in a dusty disk surrounding a pair of stars in Sagittarius.
Don’t Blink: A Light Show in a Dynamic Stellar Nursery
Web Feature | 2015 March 25
In the cosmic “blink of an eye,” astronomers have detected rapid changes in brightness and appearance of a restless stellar nursery in Orion.
Orion’s Fingers: New Clarity on an Explosive Outflow
Web Feature | 2015 March 12
With new observations using adaptive optics imaging from Gemini South, John Bally of the University of Colorado and colleagues find over 120 high-velocity outflows in the “Orion Fingers.”
FAR FROM HOME: WAYWARD CLUSTER IS BOTH TINY AND DISTANT
Press Release | 2015 March 3
Astronomers have found an unusually small and distant group of stars that seems oddly out of place. The cluster, made of only a handful of stars, is located far away, in the Milky Way’s “suburbs.” It is located where astronomers have never spotted such a small cluster of stars before.
Supermassive Black Hole Lurks at Dawn of the Universe
Web Feature | 2015 February 25
Infrared observations with the Gemini North telescope have confirmed a 12 billion solar mass black hole in an exceptionally bright quasar in the very early universe. The finding, led by a Chinese team, used Gemini and other telescopes to discover and characterize an extremely massive black hole from a period when the universe was very young.
Gemini’s "Fast Turnaround" Observing Mode is LIVE!
Web Feature | 2015 January 15
As of January 2nd, 2015, Gemini’s Fast Turnaround (FT) program is open for business. Following the first proposal deadline on January 31st, the Gemini community is now able to submit proposals every month for the duration of this open-ended trial.
THE GEMINI PLANET IMAGER PRODUCES STUNNING OBSERVATIONS IN ITS FIRST YEAR
Press Release | 2015 January 6
Stunning exoplanet images and spectra from the first year of science operations with the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) were featured today in a press conference at the 225th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in Seattle, Washington.
Galactic Herding: New Image Brings Galaxy Diversity to Life
Web Feature | 2015 January 2
A compelling new image from Gemini Observatory peers into the heart of a group of galaxies (VV166) traveling through space together. The variety of galactic forms range from a perfect spiral, to featureless blobs and present, at a glance, a sampling of the diversity and evolution of galaxies.
Gemini Images Comet Hours Before Probe’s Landing
Web Feature | 2014 November 17
New Gemini Observatory images show an Earth-based perspective of the comet targeted by the Rosetta spacecraft. The images capture the comet about nine hours before the Philae probe landed on the “dirty snowball’s” surface.
First Surface Observations of Oort Cloud Objects
Press Release | 2014 November 7
Astronomers are announcing today the discovery of two unusual objects in comet-like orbits that originate in the Oort cloud but with almost no activity, giving scientists a first look at their surfaces.
Quenching Star Formation in Cluster Galaxies
Web Feature | 2014 November 5
An international team using data from the Gemini Cluster Astrophysics Spectroscopic Survey to explore galaxies that have recently stopped (quenched) the formation of stars. Their findings reveal that these quenched galaxies tend to be closer to the cluster’s center and moving especially fast.
A Pair of Stellar Corpses Surrenders Secrets
Web Feature | 2014 October 21
The observations, led by Mukremin Kilic of the University of Oklahoma, reveal a unique, very close pairing of stellar corpses that have different evolutionary histories: one is the extremely dense, mountain-sized remains of a supernova explosion, and the other is a Neptune-sized cooling ember of a deceased Sun-like star that pulsates about every 30 minutes.
gAstronomy & Exoplanets: Food for Thought!
Web Feature | 2014 October 2
Gemini Observatory and ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center shared with Hawai'i residents "The Adventures of gAstronomy!" Dr. Steve Howell, Project Scientist for NASA's Kepler Planet Finding Mission, and Chef Bill Yosses, former White House Executive Pastry Chef, wowed the audience with their speculation about the conditions on selected exoplanets -- which inspire recipes for chefs like Yosses.
Smallest Known Galaxy with a Supermassive Black Hole
Press Release | 2014 September 16
A University of Utah astronomer and his colleagues discovered that an ultracompact dwarf galaxy harbors a supermassive black hole – the smallest galaxy known to contain such a massive light-sucking object. The finding suggests huge black holes may be more common than previously believed.
Gemini Frontier Field: First Data Now Available
Web Feature | 2014 September 8
The first data from the Gemini Frontier Fields are now available for astronomers. This dataset features wide-field adaptive optics images of a strong lensing galaxy cluster obtained with the GeMS adaptive optics system and GSAOI on the Gemini South telescope.
Half of all Exoplanet Host Stars are Binaries
Web Feature | 2014 September 2
A team of astronomers, led by Dr. Elliott Horch, Southern Connecticut State University, have shown that stars with exoplanets are just as likely to have a binary companion: that is, 40% to 50% of the host stars are actually binary stars.
Planet-like Object May Have Spent Its Youth as Hot as a Star
Press Release | 2014 August 5
Gemini observations helped prove the coolness of a “Y dwarf” – WISE J0304-2705 – which may have been a hot star in its youth.
Extreme Volcanism: Image Captures one of the Brightest Volcanoes Ever Seen in the Solar System
Press Release | 2014 August 1
During the middle of 2013, Jupiter’s moon Io came alive with volcanism. An image from the Gemini Observatory captures what is one of the brightest volcanoes ever seen in our solar system.
