Gemini Observatory

Research facility highlights

The Gemini Observatory consists of twin 8.1-metre diameter optical/infrared telescopes located on two of the best observing sites on Earth. From their locations on mountains in Hawaii and Chile, Gemini Observatory’s telescopes can access the entire sky. The facility is operated by a partnership of five countries: Canada, the United States, Australia, Brazil and Argentina.

NRC’s instruments at Gemini have enabled many striking astronomical discoveries, including successfully capturing the first image of an exoplanet system around a star. Roughly 70% of the observing is conducted either with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph or using the adaptive optics facility ALTAIR, both of which were partly built at NRC.

What we offer

The Gemini telescopes are a magnificent achievement of modern technology. Every component of these large but relatively lightweight machines is under accurate computer monitoring and control. A complex servo-loop control and feedback system ensures that minute flexures, vibrations and thermal distortion of the whole telescope system are continuously corrected, so that the telescopes will deliver the finest images obtainable from the ground. The telescopes are optimized to support observations of celestial objects at infrared wavelengths.

Additions to the facility’s collection of instruments include the upcoming near-infrared spectrograph Flamingos-2 and the Gemini Planet Imager.

Access and use

The Gemini telescopes offer Canadian astronomers a superb and powerful tool to explore the universe—from the nearest planets and stars, to the most distant galaxies. Our two giant telescopes are being used for many purposes: to monitor young Jupiter-like planets orbiting nearby stars; to probe the earliest stages of star formation in obscure interstellar clouds; and to study the light of young galaxies, which has travelled through space for billions of years. The telescope is scheduled on a semester basis following a semi-annual call for proposals. Canadian proposals are peer reviewed by the Canadian Time Allocation Committee and rated proposals are recommended to the Gemini Director for scheduling. Gemini operates a sophisticated multi-instrument queued observing system but also encourages appropriate classical observing proposals that require travel to the telescope site. In those cases, travel and subsistence costs are the responsibility of the Principal Investigator.