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12 Febrero 2018: A new chapter opens today in the history of the 4-m Mayall telescope, the largest aperture telescope at NSF’s Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO). Having completed its first 45-year-long assignment, the telescope is now poised to embark on a new mission: creating the largest 3-dimensional map of the cosmos to date. The map will help astronomers chart out the role of dark energy in the expansion history of the Universe.

2 Junio 2017: Gemini Observatory astronomer Meg Schwamb is this year’s recipient of the Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication in Planetary Science. The prize is awarded annually by the Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) of the American Astronomical Society (AAS). Schwamb is being honored for the creation and development of new tools and venues to facilitate planetary science communication. She will receive the medal in October at the Division of Planetary Sciences’ annual meeting hosted in Provo, Utah.

2 Junio 2017: On July 1, 2017, Dr. Laura Ferrarese begins a one-year term as Interim Director of the Gemini Observatory, which is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) on behalf of the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the International Gemini participants which include the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile.

5 Abril 2017: Gemini Observatory announces the development of a major new facility-class broadband optical and near-infrared imager and spectrograph named OCTOCAM.

5 Febrero 2016: The National Science Board (NSB) and the international Gemini Board have authorized the National Science Foundation (NSF) to award a new 6-year, $208 million cooperative agreement to the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) for the management and operation of the Gemini Observatory.

12 Noviembre 2015: The Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey (GPIES) is an ambitious three-year study dedicated to imaging young Jupiters and debris disks around nearby stars using the GPI instrument installed on the Gemini South telescope in Chile. On November 12, at the 47th annual meeting of the AAS’s Division for Planetary Sciences in Washington DC, Franck Marchis, Chair of the Exoplanet Research Thrust of the SETI Institute and a scientist involved in the project since 2004, will report on the status of the survey, emphasizing some discoveries made in its first year.

11 Noviembre 2015: A new book will give readers a behind-the-scenes look at how spectacular images of space are made by the world’s largest and most powerful telescopes. The telescopes and images of National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) and Gemini Observatory are showcased in this book by long-time observer Dr. Travis Rector.

12 Octubre 2015: A team led by the California Institute of Technology has been selected to transform the venerable 2.1 meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory into the first dedicated adaptive optics (AO) observatory for astronomy. This system, named Robo-AO KP, will allow astronomers to study, at high angular resolution, large numbers of astronomical objects, spanning science from planetary to stellar, and exoplanetary to extragalactic.

21 Septiembre 2015: The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), destined for the 4-meter Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), will chart out the role of dark energy in the expansion history of the universe. The US Department of Energy has announced its approval of Critical Decision 2 (CD-2) for the DESI project, authorizing its scientific scope, schedule, and funding profile. The Mayall telescope is operated by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO).

10 Septiembre 2015: Continuing Gemini Observatory’s commitment to the positive stewardship of our planet, Gemini leads in the use of renewable energy sources on Maunakea.

9 Agosto 2015: Honolulu, Hawai (9 de agosto de 2015) - Hoy, en la reunión de la Unión Astronómica Internacional (IAU), la Asociación Internacional de Cielos Oscuros (IDA) anunció que el sitio del Observatorio de la Asociación de Universidades para la Investigación en Astronomía (AURA) en el Valle de Elqui en el norte de Chile será reconocido y designado como el primer Santuario Internacional de Cielos Oscuros en el mundo. El sitio se conocerá como el "Santuario de Cielos Oscuros Gabriela Mistral” en honor a la reconocida poeta chilena.

9 Febrero 2015: Kitt Peak National Observatory is the future home of a state-of-the-art instrument that will be used to detect and characterize other worlds. The new instrument, an extreme precision radial velocity spectrometer, will measure the subtle motion of stars produced by their orbiting planets. The spectrometer, funded by NASA, will be deployed on an existing telescope at Kitt Peak, the 3.5-meter WIYN telescope. The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), which is funded by NSF, is a partner in the telescope and operates Kitt Peak.

6 Julio 2014: Dr. Arlo Landolt, Ball Family Professor Emeritus of physics and astronomy at Louisiana State University, was recently celebrated for his 55 years of observing at Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), almost all of which were devoted to service to the astronomical community. In the summer of 1959, Dr. Landolt was the first guest observer at KPNO when the only telescope on the mountain was the 16-inch site survey telescope. Today, KPNO operates three major nighttime telescopes and hosts the facilities that operate 22 optical telescopes and two radio telescopes on the mountain.

6 Enero 2014: After nearly a decade of development, construction, and testing, the world’s most advanced instrument for directly imaging and analyzing planets around other stars is pointing skyward and collecting light from distant worlds.

3 Septiembre 2013: Tonight, as the sun sinks below the horizon, the world’s most powerful digital camera will once again turn its gleaming eye skyward. Tonight, and for hundreds of nights over the next five years, a team of physicists and astronomers from around the globe, working from an observatory in Chile, will use this remarkable machine to try to answer some of the most fundamental questions about our universe.

6 Agosto 2013: Gemini Observatory’s latest instrument, a powerful infrared camera and spectrograph at Gemini South, reveals its potential in a series of striking on-sky commissioning images released today.

13 Mayo 2013: For centuries, humans have pondered what life on other planets beyond our solar system might be like. With the launch of the Kepler Spacecraft in 2009 we now have evidence for the widespread existence of such planets. Kepler’s discovery of hundreds of planet candidates around other stars has inspired a new book that combines both science and science fiction: A Kepler’s Dozen: Thirteen Stories about Distant Worlds that Really Exist. This anthology is co-edited by David Lee Summers (author of The Pirates of Sufiro and editor of Space Pirates) and Dr. Steve Howell (Kepler Project Scientist). (Fig. 1)

1 Noviembre 2012: On November 9, 2012, ceremonies on the summit of Cerro Tololo, Chile will mark the dedication of the Dark Energy Camera and the beginning of the 50th anniversary celebration of Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO). Speakers will include Drs. David Silva (NOAO Director), R. Christopher Smith (Director of AURA Observatories in Chile), Nicole van der Bliek (CTIO Director), Joshua Frieman (Director of the Dark Energy Survey), Timothy Abbott and Alistair Walker (CTIO), and Brenna Flaugher (Fermilab).

3 Septiembre 2012: On August 29th, the lights went off and the stars turned on during a special event at Beijing Planetarium. As part of the meeting of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), Dr. Malcolm Smith, National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) was honored for his long and substantial contributions to light pollution abatement on behalf of astronomical observatories and the community at large. Dr. David Silva (NOAO Director) and Bob Parks (International Dark-Sky Association Executive Director) presented Dr. Smith with the IDA David Crawford Lifetime Achievement Award. This award, in honor of the International Dark-Sky Association’s (IDA) co-founder and first executive director, recognizes those who have made substantial effort and change in light pollution abatement education.

24 Abril 2012: In mid-July 2012, astronomers from around the world will converge in San Francisco, California to discuss recent and future science from the Gemini Observatory. From direct imaging of exoplanets, to the most massive black holes ever measured, the meeting’s program features a wide-range of topics that are summarized on the conference’s webpage (above).