Gemini Data Workshop Presentations Available On-line

In July NOAO, along with the Gemini Observatory, held a workshop on Gemini data with the goal of providing the community with tools and skills to help maximize the scientific return from Gemini. The workshop covered the basics of astronomical data reduction and featured breakout sessions focused on specific Gemini instruments and capabilities. More than 60 participants attended. Most were from US institutions, with additional participants from the Gemini partner countries Brazil, Canada, and Chile.

The tutorials and presentations from the workshop are now available on-line at the workshop website. Highlights include the presentations on how CCDs work and the basics of their calibration (by Steve Howell, NOAO); how IR detectors work and how they differ from CCDs (by Dick Joyce, NOAO); an introduction to adaptive optics (by Julian Christou, Gemini Observatory), and the calibration of low-resolution optical spectroscopy (by Tom Matheson, NOAO). These presentations are particularly accessible to a broad audience.

Other presentations cover data reduction issues for specific Gemini instruments. Astronomers who have previously encountered difficulties installing IRAF may wish to visit the workshop website to explore the packages prepared by Kathleen Labrie (Gemini Observatory) that enable a complete install of IRAF and Gemini IRAF for popular operating systems. These packages are not guaranteed to work on every system, but they were successful for the overwhelming majority of workshop attendees who used them.

Further details on the workshop are provided in the September NOAO Newsletter. Comments on the workshop presentations may be addressed to the workshop coordinators Verne Smith (vsmith@noao.edu), Tom Matheson (tmatheson@noao.edu), and Nancy Levenson (nlevenson@gemini.edu).

NOAO and Gemini plan to offer similar workshops in the future. Given the enthusiasm shown by the July workshop attendees, it is clear that there is strong interest in learning how to work with Gemini data. We hope to build on the success of this workshop to develop a new generation of observers who will fully utilize the capabilities Gemini has to offer.