Announcement: Gemini Observatory

21 Marzo 2022: A unique fulldome planetarium show starring the international Gemini Observatory, a program of NSF’s NOIRLab, has been released today. Produced by Kwon O Chul, a world-renowned astrophotographer from South Korea, Gemini Observatory and the Southern Sky takes the viewer on a journey from sunset to sunrise through the zodiacal light, the Milky Way, several constellations, galaxies, nebulae, and meteor showers. The show was shot from Cerro Pachón in Chile, home to the 8.1-meter Gemini South telescope. Kwon’s goal is to help people feel the wonder of the night sky, and he creates planetarium shows using real imagery for backgrounds, which he shoots during his astrophotography travels. Most planetarium shows today, even those featuring real objects and locations, largely rely on computer-generated images and renders for the final product. Kwon made one of the first virtual reality videos of the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, and his second …

16 Marzo 2022: On 12 and 13 March 2022, NSF’s NOIRLab made its debut at the annual Tucson Festival of Books, sharing fun astronomy activities and talking about NOIRLab’s Programs and roughly 70 world-class telescopes with hundreds of curious members of the public. This was the first large-scale, face-to-face event at NOIRLab’s Arizona facilities since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. NOIRLab set up its display and activities next to its Headquarters building on Cherry Avenue in Tucson, Arizona, which was a highly trafficked area as people walked to the festival on the University of Arizona campus. NOIRLab staff provided safe solar viewing through telescopes, melted pennies with sunlight using a large Fresnel lens, provided stickers, brochures, and other giveaways, and introduced a new NOIRLab cube game. “The Tucson Festival of Books was a great opportunity to engage with the public and introduce NOIRLab to the local community and to those visiting the …

10 Marzo 2022: Now in its 18th year, Journey Through the Universe is NOIRLab’s flagship outreach program, which started as a Gemini North program on Hawaiʻi island and features a week of virtual programming and classroom visits. As part of Journey week this year, which involved nearly 8500 students and teachers, a new element was added called Journey Through NOIRLab, which has extended that reach by (virtually) bringing together students from all of NOIRLab’s host communities and engaging them in a cultural and educational exchange. The first Journey Through NOIRLab event, a live Zoom session during Journey week, connected classes in Hawai‘i, Arizona, and Chile with a total of over 500 students who shared traditional songs, customs, environments, and career aspirations. Students also had the opportunity to ask each other questions about their lives, homes, and schools. According to NOIRLab’s Rob Sparks, who helped lead and coordinate the event from Tucson, “The program …

15 Febrero 2022: Applications are now being accepted for the 2022 Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program (ACEAP), which NSF’s NOIRLab is a partner of. To apply, visit the ACEAP website. This program, now in its seventh year, brings amateur astronomers, planetarium personnel, and formal and informal astronomy educators to US-funded astronomy observatories in Chile, including Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) and the international Gemini Observatory, both Programs of NOIRLab. While there, ambassadors receive behind-the-scenes tours of some of the world’s most productive and advanced telescopes, including in-depth information on their instruments and discoveries. Prior to the ACEAP Expedition, participants engage in professional development activities designed to improve Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) communication and education. The aim of ACEAP is to share the wonders of astronomy with students, the general public, and space enthusiasts while building awareness of the amazing resources and facilities in Chile, and the data they produce that …

1 Febrero 2022: On 3 February 2022 leaders of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), NSF NOIRLab, and the SKA Observatory (SKAO) will hold a virtual press conference to announce the newly established IAU Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference. The press conference, to be conducted via Zoom, will begin on 3 February 2022 at 11:00 a.m. MST (18:00 UT) and last at most one hour. Registration is free to accredited media representatives; instructions appear below. The organizations hosting the center and the directors have been decided. This press conference will announce these details. Briefing Participants Debra Elmegreen, IAU Connie Walker, NSF NOIRLab/IAU Piero Benvenuti, University of Padova/IAU Federico Di Vruno, SKAO Meredith Rawls, University of Washington/Vera C. Rubin Observatory Richard Green, University of Arizona Jessica Heim, University of Southern Queensland Registration Bona-fide journalists can register for the press briefing here. Upon approval by the NOIRLab …

19 Enero 2022: On Saturday 15 January 2022 04:10 UT (Friday evening 14 January 2022 in the US), an underwater volcano in the South Pacific erupted violently. The eruption from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano created atmospheric pressure waves that were detected and seen 5000 kilometers (3000 miles) away in Hawai‘i. The waves were captured visually Friday evening in these cloud cam videos from Gemini North, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, a Program of NSF NOIRLab. Watch for faintly red waves traveling through the atmosphere beginning beginning from around 22:10 to 23:30 HST in the three videos recorded in the directions west, south, and north from Maunakea, respectively. More than four hours after the eruption, the pressure gauge from the weather tower located between Gemini North and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Maunakea also detected the shock wave from the volcanic blast. According to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, the shock wave traveled …

10 Enero 2022: In October 2021 more than 700 people from 76 countries took part in the United Nations/Spain/International Astronomical Union Conference on Dark and Quiet Skies for Science and Society online, following the online workshop on the same theme held in October 2020. At this second meeting delegates focused on the feasibility of implementing the specific measures to mitigate the impact of artificial interferences affecting the visibility of the sky and the detection of cosmic radio signals recommended in the first conference. The results of this meeting are contained in the reports, which are now available online. The main findings of the conference will also be presented to the 59th Session of the Scientific and Technical Sub Committee (STSC) of the UN Committee for the Peaceful Use of Outer Space (COPUOS) in the form of a Working Paper in February 2022. The Dark and Quiet Skies II conference and its reports focused …

4 Enero 2022: Representatives of the United States of America, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and the Republic of Korea have signed a new agreement to continue the operations of the international Gemini Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab. The agreement took effect on 1 January 2022 and ends on 31 December 2027. “With Gemini we've learned a great deal about the Universe that we didn't know before, and we’ve been reminded that there is much yet to learn,” said NOIRLab Director Patrick McCarthy. “As we look to the 2020s, we will continue to deploy the latest technology with international teams to expand the frontiers of astrophysics.” The international Gemini Observatory comprises twin 8.1-meter optical/infrared telescopes, located on two of the best observing sites on the planet. Gemini North is near the summit of Maunakea in Hawai‘i, and Gemini South is on Cerro Pachón, at the edge of the Chilean Andes. Named after the …

22 Diciembre 2021: When you open a new tab or window in your web browser, wouldn’t it be nice if that window opened onto a beautiful cosmic vista? A new Google Chrome extension from NSF’s NOIRLab can now make that happen. Once installed, the extension randomly selects one of NOIRLab’s Top 100 images from our gallery and displays it when the user opens a new browser tab or window. In the lower-left corner of the window, the image title and credit are shown next to the NOIRLab logo. (Clicking the title will open a page on the NOIRLab website that provides more information about the image.) Simply reload the window or tab to enjoy a new randomly selected NOIRLab image. To install the extension, visit https://chrome.google.com/webstore/search/noirlab with your Chrome browser, and explore some of the awe-inspiring images created by NSF’s NOIRLab. More information NSF’s NOIRLab (National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory), the US center …

23 Noviembre 2021: NOIRLab, in conjunction with the University of Hawai‘i’s Institute for Astronomy (IfA) and the Maunakea Observatories (MKOs), shared the Universe with learners of all ages at Astroday Kona on Sunday 14 November 2021. The free, open-air event, organized by IfA, attracted over 500 family and visitor participants at the Kona Commons shopping center where shoppers joined observatory staff in activities ranging from making star lei to solar viewing. After a break in 2020 due to the pandemic, AstroDay Kona resumed this year in Kona for the fourth time. The Maunakea observatories were joined by other Hawaiʻi astronomy facilities from Hawaiʻi Island and Maui. IfA Outreach Manager Carolyn Kaichi led the organization of the event and said, “We are extremely grateful to the community partnerships that allow for the continuation of AstroDay in Kona and especially the support of Kona Commons and its staff.” The NOIRLab booth featured handouts including image …

9 Noviembre 2021: NSF’s NOIRLab is presenting about the importance of clear and dark skies at a virtual event named “Chilean Astronomy: A window to the Universe”, organized by the Chilean Embassy in Singapore in partnership with the Science Centre Singapore. The four-day program highlights the astronomical infrastructures hosted by Chile, and includes the possibility of interacting with experts, such as representatives from astronomical societies and some of the biggest observatories in the world operating in Chile. The topics of the event range from star hunting, light pollution, and inclusivity in astronomy, to the streaming of related documentaries like Big Astronomy: People, Places, Discoveries. Juan Seguel, Education & Engagement Specialist at NOIRLab, presented a talk called Astronomy and light pollution + Globe at Night Campaign where he described the Globe at Night project and addressed questions from the audience. The event will be live-streamed via Science Centre Singapore's YouTube channel, and the Embassy …

8 Noviembre 2021: Monday 8 November to Friday 12 November 2021 sees the tenth version of Viaje al Universo, one of the education programs that NSF’s NOIRLab organizes in Chile to bring the wonders of the Universe to students, teachers and families. Although all the activities this year will again be carried out in virtual form, owing to the pandemic, this year's version will be partly hybrid: students will receive different education kits that will allow them to participate from their homes or schools in activities that are taught during Viaje al Universo week. Thanks to the kits, students will have the necessary materials to closely follow workshops in which they can learn about the colors of stars, the planets of the Solar System and their different masses, spectroscopy, the layers of the Earth’s atmosphere, the Sun, and the constellations, as well as about how to care for and preserve dark skies. Each …

4 Noviembre 2021: For more than sixty years the Decadal Surveys have embodied a consensus vision for our field. As the US national organization for open-access nighttime optical astronomy, NOIRLab stands ready, along with our managing organization the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), to join our community in advocating for and contributing to the implementation of the Survey’s recommendations. As a partner in the US Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP), we are issuing the following statement: The US Extremely Large Telescope Program is grateful for the Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s Decadal Survey process and is now reviewing the recommendations in detail. The Decadal Survey has a rich history of driving technological innovation and expanding scientific boundaries, and we are proud to be part of that story. Our visionary program aims to provide US astronomers with nationally-funded observing access to the entire sky. The program …

29 Octubre 2021: The SATCON2 workshop addressed a watershed moment in the transformation of space. In 2018, a few thousand operational satellites orbited the Earth. By 2030, there may be more than 100,000. A massive cloud of satellites presents significant to existential impacts on ground-based astronomy, and further impacts that extend to the environment, astro-tourism, and human health. While space offers many new frontiers and benefits to humanity, the sudden advance of spacefaring technology to the private sector comes with many side effects that should be carefully considered. SATCON2 brought together members of many communities: astronomy, satellite operators, environmental and dark-sky advocates, and representatives from diverse and underrepresented communities. The details of their comprehensive work are presented in 4 reports from the working groups — Observations, Algorithms, Community Engagement and Policy — which have been compiled and are being released today. The Observations and Algorithms working groups explored some SATCON1 recommendations directly, and …

22 Octubre 2021: Members of the team that developed the Image Reduction and Analysis Facility (IRAF) software system are this year’s recipients of the Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems (ADASS) Prize for an Outstanding Contribution to Astronomical Software. This is the second year this prize has been awarded by the organization. Developed at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), now NSF’s NOIRLab, IRAF is a general-purpose software system used for decades by numerous ground- and space-based observatories as a standard platform to reduce and analyze scientific data. The award is for the design and development of the core IRAF system and science packages, which have enabled almost 25,000 scientific papers since its first public release in 1986. The three recipients of the prize are NOIRLab scientist Frank Valdes and former NOAO staff members Doug Tody and Lindsey Davis. The award recognizes the outstanding contribution of IRAF to the astronomical software community and …

15 Octubre 2021: The Satellite Constellations 2 (SATCON2) workshop, held 12–16 July 2021, brought together more than 350 astronomers, satellite operators, dark-sky advocates, policy experts, and other stakeholders from 40 countries to discuss how to implement the strategies and recommendations emerging from the 2020 SATCON1 workshop to minimize the negative impacts of satellite constellations on astronomy and the night sky. The executive summary of the SATCON2 report is released today online. The full report, which will add the detailed reports of the four SATCON2 working groups to the Executive Summary, will be released in the near future. The primary goal of SATCON2 was to develop specific, implementable paths to carrying out the ten recommendations agreed on at SATCON1. SATCON2’s two additional goals were to engage a considerably wider group of stakeholders in the conversations than had been present at SATCON1 and to explore existing policy frameworks, generating ideas for the development of policies …

16 Septiembre 2021: Today Sian Proctor, a participant in the Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program (ACEAP) has successfully piloted the Inspiration4 mission carrying her and three other crew members in the SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft to orbit. Proctor is one of four African-American women to have flown into space and the first to pilot a spacecraft. The Inspiration4 crew will orbit Earth for three days and conduct a variety of experiments before returning to Earth. Proctor, selected as an astronaut by SpaceX in April 2021, is a geoscientist, explorer, space artist, and science communication specialist with a passion for space exploration. Her motto is Space2inspire, and she encourages people to use their unique, one-of-a-kind strengths and passion to inspire those within their reach and beyond. “I feel so fortunate to be a member of the Inspiration4 crew and to be able to use Space2inspire to impact educators from around the world,” Proctor said. …

13 Agosto 2021: The Chilean Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, Andrés Couve, accompanied by the Coquimbo Region’s representative of the Science Ministry, María José Escobar, visited the AURA–NOIRLab sites in northern Chile on 11 August 2021 to learn more about the latest developments. They were accompanied by Vice President and Director of AURA in Chile, Mario Hamuy, as they visited Cerro Pachón in the Chilean Andes with stops at Gemini South, part of the international Gemini Observatory, and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory construction site. Gemini Observatory and Rubin Observatory are both Programs of NSF NOIRLab. Minister Couve highlighted the importance of having science investments in Chile such as those made by AURA–NOIRLab, stating, “These mega-investments, in addition to having a great impact on science, also have a positive impact on the regional and national economy, whether in the creation of jobs, entrepreneurship, or in the transition to an economy based …

12 Julio 2021: NOIRLab's new Science website launched today, 12 July 2021. The science website is the culmination of months of work by dozens of NOIRLab staff to migrate information for the science community — current users of our facilities, and prospective users — from existing websites. Several new features are now available on the Science website: There are a number of new NOIRLab pages, spanning the observatories we operate, such as, About NOIRLab, Programs & Projects, Observing at NOIRLab, Data Services, and Weather and Webcams . A new Code of Conduct for NOIRLab meetings. A meetings database which lists past meetings and their web pages. A News page containing an archive of all past Currents and Gemini e-Newscast articles and will host all future science user announcements. Two different monthly Newsletters will be sent to our community, one focusing on Gemini news, and one with all news from all NOIRLab Programs (including …

12 Julio 2021: On Friday, 16 July 2021, astronomers will discuss findings from the Satellite Constellations 2 (SATCON2) workshop during a virtual press conference hosted by NSF’s NOIRLab and the American Astronomical Society (AAS). The briefing, to be conducted via Zoom, will begin at 4:00 pm US Eastern Daylight Time (20:00 UTC) and last 1 hour. Registration is free to accredited media representatives; instructions appear below. SATCON2 will gather more than 350 astronomers, satellite operators, dark-sky advocates, policy experts, and other stakeholders from 40 countries to discuss how to implement the strategies and recommendations emerging from SATCON1 to minimize the negative impacts of satellite constellations on astronomy and the night sky. SATCON2 has three objectives: Define and quantify resources, metrics, and collaborations needed to implement the SATCON1 recommendations, many of which will require substantial effort and funds to address. Engage astronomers and satellite operators collaboratively in exploring policy frameworks and developing policy strategies …