Remote Operations at Gemini South - Closer to the Beach!

Support Specialists Javier Fuentes (left) and Joy Chavez (right) operate the Gemini South telescope from the Base Facility in La Serena.

On November 14th the Base Facility Operations project culminated in achieving the goal of complete remote operations at the Gemini South telescope (about a year ago this was accomplished at Gemini North). Since then, the night observing team operates from a fully-equipped control room at the base facility in La Serena, Chile – with no personnel at the Cerro Pachón summit at night.

The Base Facility Operations team deserves a huge acknowledgment of appreciation for all of the hard work that was necessary to make this happen.

This milestone required the installation of a vast number of sensors and controls in order to allow the night observers to be fully aware of the sky conditions and technical performance of the remote equipment. In addition, a robust system had to be developed so that even in the worst of circumstances the facility would be safe (think earthquake, complete loss of internet connectivity, power outages, sudden changes in the weather, etc.).

As a side benefit observers can now go to the beach in the afternoon and observe at night!