OCTOCAM Gemini’s Next Generation Instrument Commences

OCTOCAM's near-infrared optical bench.

Gemini Observatory announces the development of a major new facility-class broadband optical and near-infrared imager and spectrograph named OCTOCAM.

"OCTOCAM provides Gemini with a unique capability as we look ahead to the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope era," says Stephen Goodsell who manages the instrument program for Gemini. "The instrument will be able to rapidly acquire transient objects and simultaneously obtain eight images or spectral bands from each target," according to Goodsell. "This is important because it provides a much greater level of information and detail, which will undoubtedly lead to transformational scientific discoveries."

More details are available on the Gemini press release.