The latest commissioning and system verification (SV) run for the Gemini Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics System (GeMS) with the Gemini South Adaptive Optics Imager (GSAOI) ended on Saturday, February 2.  During this run, the team completed six SV programs and made good progress on another three.  In optimal seeing, the first diffraction ring has been visible on point sources, and even in poor seeing, the AO correction is excellent. The next GeMS/GSAOI run is scheduled to start in late February.

Freezing over the weekend caused damage to some of the water lines inside the coating chamber and some associated equipment, so the
Gemini North primary mirror recoating will be delayed until mid-year.  We will have a shorter shutdown now, for work on the acquisition and guiding unit, GMOS-N, and Altair, getting back to science on February 1.  The semester schedule has been updated.

The Gemini South observing database will be offline for several hours (approximately 9am - 1pm Chilean time) on Tuesday January 8 while we perform hardware upgrades. During this time the Observing Tool fetch/store and file transfers will be unavailable and web report forms will be offline. Please check this site for further announcements.

The Gemini 2013A observing programs have now been announced. Successful PIs will receive email notification on December 17 2012. Please check the schedules page for more information. Note that the new Observing Tool must be used to access and update 13A programs.

A beta version of the Gemini IRAF package (v1.12beta) has been released. This version is required for processing GSAOI data and includes configuration files and examples. Please see the pre-releases page for more information.

The new version of the Gemini Observing Tool (2013A.1.1.1) is now available for download or via updating an existing installation of the OT. Note that there are two Linux versions, one for 32-bit and one for 64-bit CPUs. Please choose the one appropriate for your computer.

This update is required to communicate with the observing databases.