FLAMINGOS-2 Commissioning Update

FLAMINGOS-2 was back on the sky at the end of April. Despite the poor seeing (“bad to very bad” according to Percy Gomez, instrument scientist) some commissioning tasks were completed, including throughput measurements and basic longslit spectroscopy of point sources and extended objects through three slits. The MOS wheel mechanism presented problems. This fault is currently being investigated, to identify the underlying cause and provide a robust solution. A second significant issue during the run was the misalignment of the gate valve baffle, which is also being adjusted now. The Status and Availability page provides more details.