In this image, Victor Pinto, Instrument Maker 2 from the AURA instrument shop, is operating the laser milling machine at the AURA recinto in La Serena, Chile.

Attention Users: Gemini Spectroscopic Mask Making Software was Updated February 27th.

A new version of Gemini’s Mask Making Preparation Software is now available. This update supports both Gemini Multi-Object Spectrographs (GMOS) at Gemini North (GN) and Gemini South (GS) detector configurations.
Once updated, users can expect improvements in efficiency and compatibility (older version mask designs may be rejected by Gemini). For more on the software’s major changes, please visit the mask-making software website.

GMOS (North and South) offers the ability to obtain spectra of several hundred objects simultaneously in their Multi-Object Spectroscopic (MOS) modes. The GMOS MOS design is based upon precisely fabricating and locating a plate containing many small slits within the spectrograph’s entrance aperture. Typically a single mask can have between 30-60 slits; or, if a narrow-band filter is used, you can have several hundred slits per mask. A total of 18 masks can be loaded into GMOS at any given time. Actual mask production for GN and GS is done with a laser milling machine located in La Serena, Chile.