Astronomers recently got their hands on Gemini Observatory’s revolutionary new adaptive optics system, called GeMS. “And the data are truly spectacular!” said Robert Blum, deputy director of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory with funding from 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 the set of seven images being released. The remaining six images — spanning views from 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 ultra-sharp data to scientists around the world — providing a new level of detail in their studies of the universe. The images now being made public 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.
After more than a decade in development, the system, now in regular use at the Gemini South Telescope in Chile, is streaming ultra-sharp data to scientists around the world — providing a new level of detail in their studies of the universe. The images now being made public 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.
NGC 4038
This multiple pointing, 3-band, near-infrared image obtained with GeMS/GSAOI reveals remarkable, colorful details in NGC 4038, one of the components of the Antennae Galaxies (NGC 4038/NGC 4039), despite a short total exposure time.
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’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,” said 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.”
