ALTAIR Update: Possible New Instrument Start for Gemini

One of the top recommendations of the Access to Large Telescopes for Astronomical Instruction and Research (ALTAIR) study was a call for an improved instrumentation suite at Gemini that is more responsive to the needs of the US community. In response, the US members of the Gemini Science Committee (GSC) and the Gemini Board have been working with NOAO to enable a new instrument start for Gemini in 2010.

The GSC is currently working to identify the capability that has the highest priority for a new start. Some top contenders are an optical echelle spectrograph (R ~ 40,000), an IR echelle spectrograph (R ~ 30,000; 1–5 microns), and an intermediate resolution O/IR spectrograph that is similar to X-Shooter at the VLT (single object; R = 4000–14,000; UV- to K-band in one shot). Spectrographs of this kind were identified as important “missing capabilities” in the ALTAIR survey. The GSC is currently deliberating on this topic in preparation for the next Gemini Board meeting that will take place in November 2009. The Gemini Board will decide whether to authorize a new start and for which instrument.

To provide input on the immediate instrumentation needs of the US community, please respond to a short survey regarding your views on this opportunity. Your views will be forwarded to the US members of the Gemini Science Committee as input to the Gemini instrumentation process.

Please respond by September 1 in order for your response to receive full consideration by the GSC. We will report on the results of the survey and the GSC recommendations in a future issue of Currents.

The scope of the survey is limited by the rapid pace of development on this topic in the Gemini community. In the future, NOAO intends to encourage and facilitate broader discussions regarding the instrumentation needs of the entire US System.

On a related topic, the ALTAIR survey also revealed that many Gemini users wanted to be more directly involved in taking their own Gemini data. In response, NOAO continues to encourage classical observing for US Gemini observers. We will again offer to cover the cost of travel expenses associated with Gemini classical observing for the 2010A semester. Please see the September issue of the NOAO Newsletter for further details.