sci13006 — Announcement

The Orion "Bullets" with GeMS/GSAOI

January 17, 2013

December's commissioning run of the Gemini Multi-conjugate Adaptive Optics System (GeMS) with the Gemini South Adaptive Optics Imager (GSAOI) was a success, getting an unexpected start on some system verification programs. Observations of the “Bullets” in the Orion Nebula—gas outflowing from the star-forming region–are a beautiful example (Figure 1). Comparison with 2007 observations obtained with Altair and NIRI on Gemini North easily shows the motion of individual knots and demonstrates the larger field of view and improved performance of GeMS/GSAOI. Potential users can take advantage of the excellent system performance even in sub-optimal seeing; the natural seeing during these observations was about 1 arcsecond (optical), with delivered near-infrared resolution of 0.1arcseconds or better. The latest Gemini IRAF package beta release supports GSAOI data reduction. Additional images and information are available on the Gemini press release, which has been featured as an Astronomy Picture of the Day and on the websites of international news outlets including Nature.

 

About the Announcement

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sci13006

Images

sci13006a

Figure 1. GeMS/GSAOI image of the outskirts of the Orion Nebula, obtained on the night of December 28, 2012. The adaptive optics system corrects well and uniformly across the full 85 arcsecond field. Observations in [FeII], H2, and K(short)-continuum (2.093 microns) appear as blue, orange, and white, respectively.