Friday, April 06, 2012

Gemini Video Explains the Next Generation of Adaptive Optics


Learn how Gemini is leading the way in developing the next generation of adaptive optics to power the new Gemini Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics System (GeMS).

Please share this video with colleagues and anyone interested in the use of adaptive optics to further our understanding of the universe.

Figure 1: Although the combination of GMOS and GeMS is not intended to be offered as a standard mode in the immediate future, this image is useful for commissioning/verification purposes and demonstrates the capabilities of GeMS over a broad spectral range. It also hints at what is possible with a ground-layer adaptive optics system. The center of the Centaurus A galaxy, observed with GMOS-S and GeMS. The Field of View on this image is 2.4x2.4 arcmin. The performance, measured as the Full Width Half Max (FWHM) of the stars is as good as 0.08 arcsec around the center the field, and about 0.16arcsec in average over the whole field.

Higher Res Image | 4.2MB

Figure 2: The planetary nebula NGC 6369, observed with GMOS-S and GeMS. The Field of this image is 2x1.3 arcmin, and the image quality reached was as good as 0.08arcsec on these 10min exposure time images. The star at the center of the nebulae was used as one of the guide stars.
Higher Res Image | 2.1MB

Source: Gemini Observatory