Flamingos-2 Standdown Completed

The two new filters installed in Flamingos-2.

Last month the Flamingos-2 instrument on Gemini South came off the telescope for a few weeks to undergo a planned repair of its on-instrument wavefront sensor (OIWFS) and preventive maintenance on the multi-object spectroscopy (MOS) wheel. This standdown was also exploited to install a number of MOS masks as well as two new filters. The work went according to plan and the instrument is now back on the telescope. While Flamingos-2 is operational again, further on-sky work is still required to fully characterise the OIWFS, especially under good seeing conditions.

The completion of this work allows commissioning of the new filters, planned for later in May, and for the long-awaited commissioning of the MOS mode.