In this release:
“Green-bean galaxies”
A young solar system in the making
Improved GNIRS back on the Gemini North telescope
Progress on FLAMINGOS-2
Gemini open house at the AAS meeting
NICI Planet-Finding Campaign data release
“Green-bean galaxies”
Add yet another group to the world of galaxies: the “green beans.” These are a rare class of galaxies that appear green because of extremely strong emission from ionized oxygen. Unusually, the emission extends over the entire galaxy, rather than being confined to the center as is typical of quasars. Mischa Schirmer (Gemini Observatory) and collaborators identified one extreme example, called J2240, in images from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (Figure 1). The collective picture that emerges in subsequent observations from Gemini South and the Very Large Telescope of this and other “green-bean galaxies” is that these are remnant “light echoes” of powerful quasars, after the central engines have shut down. Spectroscopic observations of 19 additional candidates with GMOS-S verified their cosmological distances and confirmed a total of 17 galaxies as green beans similar to J2240. The full results will appear in the Astrophysical Journal, with a preprint currently available at http://arxiv.org/abs/1211.7098 and background information from Gemini at http://www.gemini.edu/node/11904.
Fig. 1: CFHT image, in g, r, and i filters,. The very strong [OIII] emission leads to the peculiar green color of the galaxy J2240 near the center of the field, which is interpreted as the remnant light from a formerly-powerful quasar.
A young solar system in the making
An article in the latest edition of the journal Nature on the dusty disk around the protostar L1527 was, according to PI John Tobin, motivated by earlier Gemini observations featured in 2010 at http://www.gemini.edu/node/11520. The new millimeter-wavelength observations show the Keplerian disk of a nascent solar system no more than 300,000 years old.
Fig. 2: Gemini NIRI image of L1527 taken in L'-band (3.8 microns). The bright yellow areas are the disk surfaces separated by the narrow dark lane of the disk mid-plane. The fainter, diffuse red features are scattered light from the inner outflow cavities of the protostar.
Improved GNIRS back on the Gemini North telescope
GNIRS is back on the Gemini North telescope, following five months of work to replace radioactive camera lenses, add filters, and correct some mechanical unreliability that had become apparent since 2010. We are currently scheduling a mix of science observations (in the popular SBXD+32 l/mm configuration) along with engineering tests that will allow us to open up other modes as soon as possible. The successful lens replacement in the popular “short-blue” camera has resulted in a factor of about 40 decrease in the radiation event rate on the detector. Because of a crack in one of the lenses in the “short-red” camera, and risk of further damage, this camera will not be available until after additional work is completed. This work is planned for mid-2013.
Progress on FLAMINGOS-2
Work on FLAMINGOS-2 at Cerro Pachón continues. The replacement collimator lens has been installed and the multi-object spectrograph dewar cooled down. Other recent progress includes a successful realignment of the on-instrument wavefront sensor (OIWFS) with crucial support of staff from Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics in Canada. The team aims to be ready for testing in the lab by the end of this year, and back on sky in March of 2013.
Fig. 3: Gemini’s Hector Figueroa works on the FLAMINGOS-2 multi-object spectrograph wheel in the instrument lab on Cerro Pachón.
Gemini open house at the AAS meeting
Save the date to join us for the Gemini open house on Tuesday, January 8, 6-8PM, during the upcoming American Astronomical Society meeting in Long Beach, California.
Gemini Director Markus Kissler-Patig will provide the latest news from the observatory, and there will be plenty of time for discussion of user needs, new initiatives such as large programs, and plans for the next instrument developments. Members of the various advisory and oversight bodies, such as the Users’ Committee, Science and Technology Advisory Committee, and Board, will also be present.
NICI Planet-Finding Campaign data release
The first set of data from the NICI Planet-Finding Campaign are now available from the Gemini Science Archive. This release includes observations through April 30, 2011.
