You are in: Instruments > NICI > Performance and Use

NICI Performance and Use

Status and availability:	NICI is currently undergoing commissioning on Gemini South. See Hot News for the latest updates. NICI will not be offered for general use in 2007B. The NICI planet-search campaign is planned to begin in late 2007, following successful instrument commissioning.
NICI Components:	NICI consists of an 85-element curvature adaptive optics (AO) unit and a dual-channel science camera with 2 InSb Aladdin III detectors sensitive to 1-5 µm. The science camera contains focal plane and pupil plane masks for coronagraphy, and beam splitters and filters for simultaneous differential imaging in both channels. See the NICI Components page for details.
Modes of operation:	The primary modes which will be available after initial commissioning are: Coronagraphic imaging with a variety of focal plane and pupil masks. Beamsplitters and filters are provided for simultaneous differential imaging in the methane absorption bandhead at 1.6 µm. Direct (non-coronagraphic) natural guide star adaptive-optics imaging with a variety of broad- and narrow-band filters. See the NICI Components page for more details on the available observing modes.
Sensitivity:	Eventually, an Integration Time Calculator will be available to provide sensitivity estimates for specific targets and instrument configurations. The estimated image quality delivered to the instrument is given as part of the observing condition constraints. The final NICI AO image quality will depend on observing conditions and guide star brightness, and won't be fully characterized until the instrument is commissioned. A NICI Sensitivity page will be available after commissioning.
Observing Strategies:	Detailed observing strategies will be developed during instrument commissioning.
Phase II Preparations:	All Phase II preparations will be done with the Observing Tool (OT). The first release of the NICI OT component is available in the 2007B OT; it is expected to undergo some modifications as observing methods are tested and refined.
Observing Overheads:	To be determined during commissioning.
Target Acquisition:	Target acquisition for NICI coronagraphic observations will require special techniques in order to center stars on the focal plane mask. These techniques will be developed during instrument commissioning.
Calibration:	NICI flat-fielding observations are done with the facility calibration unit. Additional calibrations, such as imaging of the pinhole grid in the Calibration Slide to measure the registration of the two science channel detectors, can be accomplished during the day. A basic calibration set [TBD] will be obtained for all observations, queue or classical. These "baseline" calibrations are not charged to the program. Additional calibrations beyond the baseline set are charged to the program.
Data processing and software:	At present, the Gemini IRAF package does not include a sub-package for NICI processing. Initial processing follows typical imaging data reduction pipeline (as for NIRI, for example); information and assistance specific to processing NICI images will be provided during the system verification phase.

Last updated 1 March 2007, B. Rodgers
Original content July 2005, T. Hayward, J. Jensen