Note:The integral field unit was destroyed in 2007 in the accident that damaged GNIRS, and is no longer available.
The Gemini Cerro Pachón datacenter will be shut down on October 5 and 6, 2020 due to maintenance work on the power infrastructure. The Gemini South ODB is still accessible. The only service that is unavailable is the DSS Gemini image catalog server. If automatic image display in the OT does not seem to be working, then select another image server.
Gemini North is accepting proposals for the Fast Turnaround (FT) program. We are not yet accepting proposals for Gemini South. Here, we give information specific to this proposal cycle. Please see the other FT pages - particularly the rules - for general information about the program. FT-specific proposal templates must now be used for all FT proposals; see the "PIT information" section below.
While the Gemini-S telescope has been closed during recent months, our team has been working on preparing detailed plans for re-opening, as soon as the conditions in Chile would allow.
A decision has been taken that from September 28th we can start work on preparing the Gemini-S telescope for limited night-time operation. Assuming that all the preparations will go well, we may be back to observing at night by the second half of October.
Gemini North is accepting proposals for the Fast Turnaround (FT) program. We are not yet accepting proposals for Gemini South. Here, we give information specific to this proposal cycle. Please see the other FT pages - particularly the rules - for general information about the program. FT-specific proposal templates must now be used for all FT proposals; see the "PIT information" section below.
Gemini is now accepting proposals for observing time in Semester 2021A. The submission deadline varies with participant. A new version of the Phase I Tool (PIT) has been released to support proposal submissions.
Poor Weather proposals are now being accepted at Gemini North using the 2020B PIT.
The properties of the Aladdin III InSb detector array for the GNIRS science channel are given in Table 1 below.
The filters listed below may be used for photometry on the Mauna Kea system.
As they vignette the outer portions of the GNIRS acquisition keyhole, they should not be used for purposes of acquisition for spectroscopy.
The spectrograph entrance slit is defined by two mechanisms. The width of the slit is defined by the one of several slits in a photo-etched mask located in the slit slide; the length of the slit is defined by one of several openings in the decker slide.
GNIRS contains two prisms designed to enable cross-dispersed spectroscopy in the 0.9-2.5 µm region. One, known as SXD, was designed for use with the short blue camera (0.15"/pix), and the other, known as LXD, for use with the long blue camera (0.05"/pix). The prisms disperse incident light in the direction orthogonal to that of the gratings, which allow grating orders 3-8 to appear at different locations on the array, as shown here.
The GNIRS grating turret contains three gratings, each with an effective first order blaze wavelength of 6.6 µm. The wavelength diffracted with peak efficiencies then correspond fairly well to the atmospheric windows centered at 5, 3.5, 2.2, 1.65, and 1.25 µm (M, L, K, H, J) for orders 1 through 5 respectively. The blocking filters used for these orders cover most or all of the free spectral ranges of the individual orders. A filter for order 6 (1.1 µm, called X) is also available.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Gemini South telescope is currently not observing. This situation is likely to continue for some time to come. Therefore we have decided that the Phase-2 preparation deadline for Gemini South 2020B programs can be delayed by one month until August 20, 2020.
The Gemini North Phase-2 deadline remains July 20, 2020.
This page gives you GNIRS specific information for your proposal preparation (Phase I). For more information on the Phase I Tool (PIT) and the proposal submission process, please visit the Phase I page.
For questions about GNIRS, contact the support team. For questions about PIT or the proposal process in general, please file an helpdesk ticket.
In order to minimize the most common errors when creating a new program to observe with GNIRS, the PI is strongly encouraged to consider the following Phase I checklist before submitting the proposal.
☐ Is your science object visible during the dates of the semester taken into account the observing time requested and the limits on elevation of the telescope?