Scheduled Telescope Shutdowns North and South

The scheduled shutdown at Gemini South is complete, and regular science operations have resumed. In addition to regular work on the Acquisition and Guiding Unit, optical maintenance was done on both GMOS and GCAL, the two major chiller units were relocated and a newer, more efficient model was installed, and work commenced to replace all of the older computer racks. The latter, a huge project, involved the extraction of computers and their installation in a temporary rack before reinstalling them back into the new racks. We expect this work to be completed as planned, shortly after the main engineering shutdown. Gemini North will be closed beginning September 10 for the coating of the primary mirror, which was delayed following water damage to some of the coating equipment in the winter.