This FLAMINGOS-2 near-infrared image details part of the magnificent
Swan Nebula (M17), where ultraviolet radiation streaming from young hot
stars sculpts a dense region of dust and gas into myriad fanciful forms.
M17 lies some 5,200 light-years distant in the constellation
Sagittarius and is one of the most massive and luminous star-forming
region's in our Galaxy. It is also one of the most studied. Field of
view: 5.5 x 4.0 arcmin. Credit: Gemini Observatory/AURA. Full Resolution TIF (4MB) | Full Resolution JPG (2MB) | Med Resolution JPG (280KB)
NGC 6300 is an intriguing barred spiral galaxy in the constellation of
Ara. This near-infrared image with FLAMINGOS-2 shows the galaxy’s
complex arm structure forming a spectacular ring of star formation. The
galaxy’s bar also has a strong vein of dust that almost obscures its
bright active nucleus –– whose prodigious energy is the result of matter
accreting onto a black hole with an estimated mass of 280,000 Suns.
Field of view: 3.1 x 2.9 arcmin. Credit: Gemini Observatory/AURA. Full Resolution TIF (2.3MB) | Full Resolution JPG (1.2MB) | Med Resolution JPG (153KB)
Gemini Observatory’s latest instrument, a powerful infrared camera and
spectrograph at Gemini South, reveals its potential in a series of
striking on-sky commissioning images released today.
Gemini Observatory’s latest tool for astronomers, a second-generation
infrared instrument called FLAMINGOS-2, has “traveled a long road” to
begin science observations for the Gemini scientific community. Recent
images taken by FLAMINGOS-2 during its last commissioning phase
dramatically illustrate that the instrument was worth the wait for
astronomers around the world who are anxious to begin using it.
“It’s already one of our most requested instruments at the Gemini
telescopes,” remarks Nancy Levenson, Gemini’s Deputy Director and Head
of Science. “We see a long and productive life ahead for FLAMINGOS-2
once astronomers really start using it later this year.”
“It has not been an easy journey,” says Percy Gomez Gemini’s FLAMINGOS-2
Instrument Scientist, “but thanks to the dedicated work of Gemini
engineers and scientists very soon astronomers will be able to use a
reliable and robust instrument.” After significant redesign and rebuilds
for optimal performance on the Gemini South telescope, FLAMINGOS-2 has
proven that it will provide astronomers with a powerful mix of
capabilities. These include extreme sensitivity to infrared (heat)
radiation from the universe, high-resolution wide-field imaging, and a
combination of spectroscopic capabilities that will allow cutting-edge
research in topics spanning from the exploration of our Solar System, to
the most distant and energetic explosions in our universe.
While work still remains on some of its spectroscopic features, as well
as refining imaging at the edge of its large field of view, Gemini’s
team of engineers and scientists has mitigated its most severe risk –
potential damage to a large collimator lens that catastrophically
cracked during a planned final commissioning in early 2012 (it was later
replaced). The thermal environment surrounding this lens – located
where the temperature changes periodically for routine switching of
masks for multi-object spectroscopy - creates special challenges. It was
these temperature changes that initially caused the crack, but a year
later procedures and design modifications are now in place to
significantly reduce risks to the lens’s integrity and functionality.
“The Gemini team has done a remarkable job in optimizing this instrument
for Gemini and it will soon be everything, and more, that we had
envisioned years ago when the project began,” says Steve Eikenberry, who
led the team who built FLAMINGOS-2 at the University of Florida. “Like a
lot of scientists, I’m anxious to use FLAMINGOS-2 to collect data –
specifically, I want to look toward the center of our Galaxy and study
binary black holes as well as the mass evolution of the super-massive
black hole that lurks at the heart of our Galaxy.” Eikenberry and
collaborators are eager to make the most of FLAMINGOS-2’s power as soon
as the instrument’s multi-object spectroscopy capability is fully
functional. “With most of the challenges behind us, now the fun begins!”
Eikenberry said.
Kevin Stevenson of the University of Chicago already has plans to use
FLAMINGOS-2 later this year to study the intriguing exoplanet WASP-18b.
This well-known exoplanet is being strongly heated by its ultra-nearby
host star and according to Stevenson, “It's even hotter than some of the
coolest, low-mass stars known.” Stevenson and his team hope to
determine the abundances of water vapor and methane when the planet is
eclipsed by its host star. “Our plan is to compare the system's light
immediately before and during an eclipse to measure the contribution
from the planet. When we do this over several parts of the infrared part
of the light spectrum, we can piece together the planet's spectrum and
learn about its temperature and composition.”
The quality and usefulness of FLAMINGOS-2 for these and future projects
is reflected in the images released today. They cover a wide range of
targets which are representative of the types of science in which
FLAMINGOS-2 is expected to excel. In addition, the instrument may later
accept an adaptive optics (AO) feed for extremely high-resolution
imaging from GeMS (Gemini Multi-conjugate adaptive optics System).
It is expected that most of these systems, including multi-object
spectroscopy, will be fully integrated in 2014 with imaging and
long-slit spectroscopy available now. The next round of observations
with FLAMINGOS-2 are slated to begin on September 1st.
Contacts:
- Percy Gomez
Gemini Observatory, La Serena, Chile
Phone (Desk): 56-51-2-205696
Email: pgomez@gemini.edu - Peter Michaud
Gemini Observatory, Hilo, Hawai‘i
Office: +1 (808) 974-2510
Cell: +1 (808) 936-6643
pmichaud@gemini.edu - Antonieta Garcia
Gemini Observatory, La Serena, Chile
Phone (Desk): 56-51-2-205628
Cell: 09-69198294
Email: agarcia@gemini.edu
