Proceedings Article | 1 August 2024
KEYWORDS: Equipment, Gemini Observatory, Telescopes, Spectrographs, Adaptive optics, Gemini Planet Imager, Near infrared, Observatories, Spectroscopes, Cameras
The Gemini Observatory's instrument program supports breakthrough research in areas such as extrasolar planets, time-domain astrophysics and cosmology, all while providing the best possible competitive instrumentation suite given technological and budget constraints. This paper offers a broad overview of Gemini's instrumentation program, highlighting achievements, challenges, and strategies. We report on the status of the currently offered facility instruments and AO systems at each telescope. The facility instrument program offers a robust suite of capabilities with broad applicability, handling the largest share of science return and thus concentrating the largest development efforts. In 2023 we completed the commissioning of GHOST at Gemini South, a high-resolution optical echelle spectrograph, and in 2024 we completed the commissioning of the near-infrared high-resolution spectrograph IGRINS-2 at Gemini North. We are currently integrating SCORPIO, a simultaneous 8-channel, optical to infrared camera and spectrograph for Gemini South focused on time domain astronomy and Rubin Observatory follow-ups. There has been continued progress on the design of the community-led multi-IFU MOAO spectrograph, GIRMOS, which will operate with GNAO, the future adaptive optics facility at Gemini North, currently in its design stage. Additionally, the visiting instrument and instrument upgrade programs support more unique observing modes, which might have a narrow scope but potentially high scientific impact. As part of the upgrades program, in 2024 we completed the commissioning of two NIR integral field units for the Gemini North workhorse spectrograph GNIRS. In addition, we summarize here the progress and next stages of the radial velocity spectrograph MAROON-X, the performance of the speckle imagers at each site, the ongoing improvements to the GeMS MCAO system at Gemini South, and the upgrades of GPI prior to its relocation to Gemini North.
