Bob Schommer
As this article is being written (mid-April), the first Gemini proposals are being reviewed by the NOAO TACs and the Demonstration Science teams are being formed (see related articles). The telescopes and project are advancing rapidly, and this week the Gemini North primary is being re-aluminized (the first coating was "artisanal" in nature). The Hawaii AO system (Hokupa'a) and near-IR imager (QUIRC) performed well when on the telescope in early March; the telescope and system integration have advanced significantly (see the Gemini Newsletter for details). The chopping action of the secondary mirror system has been verified and has performed superbly, which is an important requirement for the use of OSCIR, the Florida mid-IR imager/spectrograph.
Our optimistic scenario is that science operations will start in mid-June with the Demonstration Science programs and that the telescope and system will be exercised by these staff and instrument team-led projects. By August, the first of the Quickstart projects from the community can begin and Gemini data will flow back to the Principal Investigators. The exact efficiency and scheduling of this operation are obviously still unknown.
We are awaiting the delivery to Gemini of the first facility instrument, the Near-Infrared Imager with grism spectroscopy (NIRI) from U. Hawaii. By the time you read this, it should have begun system integration at Gemini North. We hope to offer it by approximately the end of calendar year 2000. NIRI should be included in the next NOAO call for Gemini proposals, which has a deadline of 30September for the 2001A semester.
Gemini South is actually several months ahead of schedule. The primary mirror, after delivery without untoward incident, is currently in the coating chamber on Cerro Pachón (see accompanying photo essay). Telescope system construction and testing are being completed, with first oil and first motion achieved. NOAO and the USGP will provide the IR imager 'Abu' as a commissioning imager for Gemini South. In addition, 'Phoenix,' the NOAO near-IR high-resolution spectrometer, will be shared between CTIO/SOAR and Gemini South (see the related instrumentation article).
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the instrument teams from U. Hawaii (Buzz Graves, Malcolm Northcott, and team) and U. Florida (Charlie Telesco and company) for providing their instruments for visitor use and supporting early science on Gemini North. The US and international Gemini communities owe them a very great debt, as they have enabled our first use of this important national telescope.
And finally, I would like to thank Todd Boroson for his 6+ years of service as US Gemini Project Scientist, and all the help he has given me over the past 6+ months. Whatever has succeeded in this transition and in the early scientific use of Gemini North has been the result of many months and years of Todd's tireless work and attention to an amazing number of details. Personally, he has made my life possible by providing an encyclopedic resource for all the things that are happening now with Gemini, and patiently explaining to me the history, rationale, and options that have been considered. I am sincerely grateful for his expert advice.