Images from the Gemini Multi-conjugate adaptive optics System (GeMS) System Verification science observations. All images are available for download HERE. Image design by Eve Furchgott, Blue Heron Multimedia.Credit: Gemini Observatory/AURA
A unique new instrument at Gemini South in Chile takes the removal of
atmospheric distortions (using adaptive optics technology) to a new
level. Today’s release of seven ultrasharp, large-field images from the
instrument’s first science observations demonstrate its remarkable
discovery potential.
Astronomers recently got their hands on Gemini Observatory’s
revolutionary new adaptive optics system, called GeMS, “and the data are
truly spectacular!” says Robert Blum, Deputy Director of the National
Optical Astronomy Observatory with funding by the U.S. National Science
Foundation. "What we have seen so far signals an incredible capability
that leaps ahead of anything in space or on the ground – and it will for
some time.” Blum is currently using GeMS to study the environments in
and around star clusters, and his preliminary data, targeting the
spectacular cluster identified as RMC 136, are among a set of seven
images released today. The remaining six images –– spanning views of
violent star-forming regions, to the graceful interaction of distant
colliding galaxies –– only hint at the diversity of cutting-edge
research that GeMS enables.
After more than a decade in development, the system, now in regular use
at the Gemini South telescope in Chile, is streaming ultrasharp data to
scientists around the world – providing a new level of detail in their
studies of the universe. The images made public today show the
scientific discovery power of GeMS (derived from the Gemini
Multi-conjugate adaptive optics System), which uses a potent combination
of multiple lasers and deformable mirrors to remove atmospheric
distortions (blurriness) from ground-based images.
Unlike previous AO systems, GeMS uses a technique called
“multi-conjugate adaptive optics,” which not only captures more of the
sky in a single shot (between 10- to 20-times more area of sky imaged in
each “picture”) but also forms razor-sharp images uniformly across the
entire field, from top-to-bottom and edge-to-edge. This makes Gemini’s
8-meter mirror 10- to 20-times more efficient, giving astronomers the
option to either expose deeper, or explore the universe more effectively
with a wider range of filters, which will allow them to pick out subtle
yet important structural details never seen before.
“Each image tells a story about the scientific potential of GeMS,” says
Benoit Neichel who led the GeMS commissioning effort in Chile. According
to Neichel, the targets were selected to demonstrate the instrument’s
diverse “discovery space” while producing striking images that would
make astronomers say, ”I need that!”
The first data coming from GeMS are already making waves among
astronomers across the international Gemini partnership. Tim Davidge, an
astronomer at Canada’s Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, with funding
by the Canadian National Research Council, studies populations of stars
within galaxies beyond our Milky Way. His work requires extreme
resolution to see individual stars millions of light-years away. "GeMS
sets the new cool in adaptive optics,” says Davidge. “It opens up all
sorts of exciting science possibilities for Gemini, while also
demonstrating technology that is essential for the next generation of
ground-based mega-telescopes. With GeMS we are entering a radically new,
and awesome, era for ground-based optical astronomy.”
Stuart Ryder of the Australian Astronomical Observatory, with funding
through the Australian Research Council, whose work requires crisp
images of distant galaxies to reveal exploding stars (supernovae), also
anticipates the potential of GeMS for his research. But mostly he says
he’s blown away by the raw technology involved. “I was fortunate enough
to witness GeMS/GSAOI in action, and I was awestruck by the sight of the
yellow-orange laser beam piercing the clear, moonlit night,” says
Ryder. “When one considers all the factors that have to work together,
from clear skies, to a steady stream of meteors burning up in the upper
atmosphere sprinkling enough sodium atoms to be excited by the laser ––
it's wonderful to see it all come together.”
The GeMS system uses a constellation of five laser guide stars and
multiple deformable mirrors to remove atmospheric distortions to
starlight in an innovative and revolutionary way. The laser, a
solid-state sodium (yellow/orange) laser, was developed with significant
supplemental funding through the U.S. National Science Foundation and
from the entire Gemini partnership. See www.gemini.edu/node/11925 for the GeMS “first light” image release and a more detailed description of the technology used by GeMS.
The new images, shown as a collage on the right, as well as images of
the system in operation in Chile, are available as high-resolution
downloads with captions at: www.gemini.edu/12020.
Media Contacts:
- Peter Michaud
Gemini Observatory, Hilo, HI 96720
Office: +1 (808) 974-2510
Cell: +1 (808) 936-6643
pmichaud@gemini.edu
Science Contact:
- Rodrigo Carrasco
Gemini Observatory, La Serena, Chile
Email: rcarrasco@gemini.edu
Phone (Desk): 56-51-205607 - Benoit Neichel (after July 5, 2013)
Gemini Observatory, La Serena, Chile
Email: bneichel@gemini.edu
Phone (Desk): 56-51-205642
