GNIRS has two spectroscopic modes:
Observing proposals that involve infrared imaging should request NIRI, not GNIRS. If it is not known whether NIRI will be available, Phase 2 may involve creating observations for both instruments. For instance, GNIRS may be used to perform rapid Target of Opportunity (ToO) imaging programs when NIRI is unavailable. Prospective users should be aware that the Gemini IRAF package contains no dedicated support for GNIRS imaging reductions.
The following table provides estimated broadband magnitudes reached at 5 sigma (per spectral pixel) in 1 hour of integration, both without and with adaptive optics (AO).
GNIRS can be used with the standard Gemini peripheral wavefront sensors, or with the Altair adaptive optics module (in both natural and laser guide star modes).
Gemini 2020B observing programs and schedule have been announced. Notification emails were sent to successful PIs on June 25, 2020. Please check the schedules page for more information. Note that the latest version of the Observing Tool is required to access and update 2020B programs.
We present here measured sensitivity and throughput of GRACES in its experimental phase (phase I). No scientific data were obtained until GRACES was improved, and delivered to Gemini for routine operation.
For questions about `Alopeke and/or Zorro, contact the support team. For questions about PIT or the proposal process in general, please file an helpdesk ticket.
Acquisition overheads associated with setting up on each new target include time for slewing the telescope, configuring the guiding, and centering the target. These sum to ~5 minutes for most targets.
Every group of speckle targets within 15 degrees and/or every hour must include a point source standard. A photometric standard must be included once/night when doing photometry.
MAROON-X has only one fixed instrument setting and currently one readout mode (100kHz, 1x1 binning). Observing strategies depend on the science case, i.e. whether general purpose echelle spectroscopy or high-resolution radial velocity observations are desired. The latter will require more careful planning of calibrations, both instrument stability tracking via the simultaneous calibration fiber as well as bracketing etalon exposures during the night.
PIT, which is the acronym for Phase I Tool, is the software application that any PI has to use in order to submit a proposal for observing with GNIRS at Gemini North Telescope. In this section we aim to give a brief guideline of how to use efficiently this tool when preparing your proposal. There is a dedicated webpage of Phase I where you can find more detailed information about this first Phase of the proposal preparation.
At this early stage of the proposal preparation, that is Phase I, you only need to know an estimation of the program time that you will request for your science goals. That time must be set in the PIT software ("Overview" section, "Time request" tag), as explained in the previous section.
The program time is not only the exposure time for your target, you also have to add other time consuming steps, such as the readout, the setup time, among others.
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?
A number of common errors are made by PIs when creating phase I files writing their technical justifications. The PI should consider the following checklist when writing the Phase I proposal.
A number of common errors are made by PIs when creating phase I files writing their technical justifications. The PI should consider the following checklist when writing the Phase I proposal.