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2010B Instrument Availability and Target Accessibility

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This page provides best estimates, at the time of the Call for Proposals, of instrument availability and target (RA, dec) restrictions for 2010B.

Instrument Changes

As there are more instruments than the number of available ports on each telescope, instrument swaps will be required. Therefore not all instruments will be available for the entire semester. When possible instrument swaps will be scheduled to minimize impact on the queue and instrument swaps will be driven by demand. Hence the final schedule will not be made until after the semester programs are known. It may be the case that certain targets or entire programs will not be feasible once the final schedule is determined, at ITAC or thereafter. If an instrument is requested for less than 6% of the Bands 1+2 time, the Observatory reserves the right to limit the RA range available to programs, or to not schedule the instrument. During classical runs, no instrument changes on the Instrument Support Structure are permitted.

In 2010B instrument access to ports is especially complex at both telescopes, due to planned engineering, instrument upgrades and commissioning. Although this Call does not restrict RA availability for any of the instruments, it is expected that access will need to be restricted once the engineering schedule is known and the demand is determined at the International Time Allocation Committee meeting.


 

Gemini North Instrument Availability and Target Accessibility


All instruments are restricted for sky visibility as described in the Table and Figure below. Observations requiring the Laser Guide Star (LGS) system are further restricted by the limitation that the LGS must be used at or above 40 degrees elevation. How this translates into RA and dec restrictions is indicated in the Table. In addition in 2010B, GMOS-North is expected to be unavailable for a four week period for the detector upgrade. Michelle will most likely only be available for two short periods during the semester, depending on demand.

 


Accessible Restricted** Inaccessible
Declination,
non-LGS
-30d to +73d -37d to -30d,
+73d to +79d
< -37d and > +79d
Declination,
LGS
-22d to +65d -27d to -22d,
+65d to +68d
< -27d and > +68d
Right Ascension,
non-LGS
19h to 11h 17h to 19h,
11h to 13.5h
13.5h to 17h
Right Ascension,
LGS
20h to 10h 18h to 20h,
10h to 12.5h
12.5h to 18h
**GMOS MOS programs requiring pre-imaging should not have targets in this region. Programs with targets in this region should not require a large amount of time, or have strict timing or observing constraints.

 

GN Target Accessibility

Figure 1: Schematic representation of target accessibility at Gemini North during semester 2010B. Green regions offer unrestricted access, red regions are inaccessible. Hatched areas indicate the more restricted LGS regions. The yellow region is possible, but restricted. See text, and values in the Table above.


 

Gemini South Instrument Availability and Target Accessibility


All instruments are restricted for sky visibility as described in the Table and Figure below. In addition in 2010B, Phoenix and T-ReCS may be unavailable late in the semester (not before November 2010) due to MCAO commissioning. The telescope will be shut down for 24 nights for mirror coating, probably during September to October 2010.

 


Accessible Restricted** Inaccessible
Declination -87d to +22d -89d to -87d,
+22d to +28d
< -89d and > +28d
Right Ascension 19h to 9h 16h to 19h,
9h to 12h
12h to 16h
**GMOS MOS programs requiring pre-imaging should not have targets in this region. Programs with targets in this region should not require a large amount of time, or have strict timing or observing constraints.

 

 

GS Target Accessibility

Figure 2: Schematic representation of target accessibility at Gemini South during semester 2010B. Green regions offer unrestricted access, red regions are inaccessible. The yellow region is possible, but restricted. See text, and values in the Table above.

 




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