Menu

Stunning Photos from Maunakea

20140506_untitled_001_sm

A year in the life of the Gemini North telescope, captured by the CFHT webcam on Maunakea

A Breathtaking Year-Round View of the Skies

Michael J. West, Deputy Director for Science at Lowell Observatory and former Head of Operations at Gemini South, recently published A Sky Wonderful with Stars: 50 Years of Modern Astronomy on Maunakea. This stunning book gives readers a glimpse of the sky through photo essays of Maunakea, revealing the history of the Maunakea observatories, the scientific discoveries made by the telescopes, a look toward the future of astronomy on Maunakea, and so much more. The following is a description of the book on the University of Hawaii Press website:

“A Sky Wonderful with Stars: 50 Years of Modern Astronomy on Maunakea tells the fascinating story of how a remote mountaintop in the middle of the Pacific Ocean became home to the most powerful collection of telescopes in the world. It is a tale of triumphs, failures, and the indomitable human spirit of exploration. Over 160 superb photographs accompanied by astronomer Michael J. West’s engaging commentary bring the past and present to life and showcase the many remarkable discoveries made by the observatories atop Maunakea.”

read more

Gemini Inspires Graduate Student

Last week, University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) graduate student, Sarthak Dasadia, visited Gemini North. Sarthak, an amateur astronomer and staff person at a local planetarium near his home in India, would often collect scientific data to send to various institutes such as the American Meteor Society. He recounts,

“Internet was a privilege back then, and my parents only allowed an hour a week which was enough to search and contact different astronomy institutes.”

While researching astronomical images, he came across Gemini Observatory. Noting the address, he sent a letter expressing his interest in astronomy and got a reply. Xiaoyu Zhang, Gemini North’s Librarian, sent material including images, posters, and a copy of the Gemini Virtual Observatory tour.

“I can’t express how important it was for me to receive mail from a foreign institute,” he says. “This encouraged me to pursue a degree in physics and astronomy.”

That was in 2006.

Currently, Sarthak is studying merging galaxy clusters at UAH. He also gave a talk at the International Astronomical Union (IAU) General Assembly in Honolulu last week. “The day I heard [that the IAU was in Hawai‘i], I knew I wanted to visit Gemini.”

“I’m thrilled that we encouraged Sarthak to work towards a degree in physics and astronomy,” says Zhang. “I wish him the best as he continues his education and leaves his mark on the universe!”

This image was taken at Gemini North. Photo credit: Sarthak Dasadia

This image was taken at Gemini North. Photo credit: Sarthak Dasadia

Sarthak at the Maunakea Visitor Station

Sarthak at the Gemini North Base Facility Control Room.

read more

Gemini Supports Local Schools with Computer Donations

For most institutions, including Gemini, hardware has a relatively short life-cycle. It can be expensive to upkeep older computers and if an older computer fails, years of valuable research and/or information is lost. This is why Gemini generally replaces its computer hardware every three to four years.

However, for Tim Minick, Gemini’s Information Systems Group Manager, putting old but still well-working machinery through the metal shredder seems like a waste.

“For me it’s personal. I know what it’s like to go through school and not have enough equipment. We do this in support of education.”

Gemini partners with Hawai‘i Community College (HCC) and other public and charter schools such as Hilo’s Connections Charter school and Waiakea High School to donate computer hardware. At Gemini South a similar program is in the process of development.

Most recently, Gemini donated 13 computers to Waiakea High School which will help support a partnership with the Department of Education where students use Gemini data to create images and learn about image processing. The repurposed computers, pictured below, are a mix of PCs, Macs, laptops, and desktops.

For more information on how how your local (Hawai‘i and Chile) organization can work with Gemini for future donations, contact Tim Minick at: (808) 947-2504 or via email at: tminick”at”gemini.edu  .

 

comp_1

read more

Gemini Probes Milky Way’s Dark Matter Halo

Many properties of the Milky Way halo, like its mass, are not well known, and not all the mass is even ordinary matter. Direct measurements of the proper motions of objects in the halo can disentangle properties that are otherwise undistinguished, and these observations of dwarf galaxies and globular clusters also provide insight into the origin of the stars in the halo of the Milky Way.

Tobias Fritz from the University of Virginia explains further in his abstract for the Future and Science of Gemini Meeting:

“With the advent of GeMS/GSAOI on Gemini-South, it is now possible to obtain ground-based meaningful proper motions in the outer halo with a time baseline of only two years that are competitive with space-based techniques.

“In our Gemini large program we target  stars in the Sagittarius stream, five globular clusters and four dwarf galaxies. We have already analyzed  the first epoch Adaptive Optics imaging, concentrating on the astrometric errors, both statistical and systematic in origin. The results of this analysis are useful for any future project using GeMS/GSAOI to determine absolute proper motions.

“Further, we separate our objects into foreground stars, target object stars, and background galaxies using morphology and colors. To demonstrate the usefulness of proper motions for dynamics we present the case of the globular cluster Palomar 5. We have already determined its proper motion from large field seeing limited images and have achieved an accuracy of 0.20 milliarcsecond/year over a 15 year time baseline.”

Distribution of targets on the sky.

Distribution of targets on the sky.

read more

Solar Panel Installation Begins at Gemini North

20150731_IAU_media_tour_022

Installation of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels on the roof of the Gemini North building on Maunakea is now well underway. Gemini’s head mechanical engineer Chas Cavedoni is managing the project with assistance from Steve Hardash, Gemini’s head of engineering operations. Hardash reports that the panels are expected to generate about 10% of the power required to operate the Maunakea facility.

PV systems operating on Maunakea are more efficient than at sea level for three important reasons. First, Maunakea receives on average 6.4 peak sun hours a day as opposed to Hilo, with only 4.6 peak sun hours a day resulting in a 39% benefit. Second, PV systems operating on Maunakea at low summit temperatures of ~45º F versus ~80º F at sea level, result in another 10% improvement in performance. Finally, PV systems operating 13,750 ft above sea level, where the sun is more intense due to reduced atmospheric absorption, results in an additional 10% benefit.

Altogether, the solar panels that are being installed at the Gemini North building on Maunakea will be 69% more energy efficient than the panels planned for installation on the Hilo Base Facility. Calculations show that it it should take less than four years for the solar panels to pay back the initial investment.

At the time of posting, about 80% of the project has been completed. Watch for updates while work progresses between now and the project’s expected completion date near the end of August this year.

Gemini is deeply committed to continuing our positive stewardship of both Maunakea, and our planet.

EDIT: A previous version of this post claimed 159% overall benefit. This was an error and has been corrected to 69% overall benefit.

solar_panel_installation

Progress on the PV panels on the Gemini Telescope as of Thursday, August 13th.

Progress on the PV panels on the Gemini Telescope as of Thursday, August 13th.

read more
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube

Archives

Gemini Observatory Participants

Gemini's mission is to advance our knowledge of the Universe by providing the international Gemini Community with forefront access to the entire sky.

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube