Gemini South

 

Gemini South

Name(s) Gemini South
Status Operational
Broad Science Goals
  • Twin telescopes in both hemispheres provide participant members with access to the entire sky
  • To provide the best image quality possible from the ground for telescopes of their size.
  • To provide the cleanest possible (i.e., lowest possible emissivity) telescopes, for optimal infrared observing from the ground.
The Gemini Observatory is a world-leader in wide-field adaptive optics assisted infrared imaging, and supports research in almost all areas of astronomy.
Site Cerro Pachón, Chile
Location Coordinates 30º14.5’S
70º44.8’W
Altitude 2737 meters (8980 feet)
Enclosure 46-meter rotating dome
Type Optical/Infrared telescope
Optical Design Ritchey-Chretien Cassegrain
Field of View Maximum 10 arcmin diameter on the bottom port, and 7 arcmin diameter on the side ports due to science fold mirror size. 
Diameter: Primary M1 8.1 meters
Material: Primary M1 Corning Ultra-Low Expansion (ULE) Glass
Diameter: Secondary M2 1.0 meter
Material: Secondary M2  
Mount Alt-azimuth 
First Light Date 2000
Adaptive Optics Gemini Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics System (GeMS) with FLAMINGOS-2 and the Gemini South Adaptive Optics Imager (GSAOI) provides uniform, diffraction-limited image quality to arcminute-scale fields of view

                                       

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Updated on February 15, 2022, 3:57 am