From The NSF NOIRLab NOAO Gemini Observatory: “First light observations of chemically rich star HD 222925 captured”

NOIRLab

From The NSF NOIRLab NOAO Gemini Observatory

8.24.22

Gemini South Telescope upgrade is new next generation high-resolution GHOST spectrograph.

NSF NOIRLAB Gemini GHOST Optical echelle Spectrograph on Gemini South

The U.S. National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab-operated Gemini South Telescope used its latest upgrade — GHOST, the Gemini High-resolution Optical SpecTrograph — to capture observations of HD 222925, a star more than 1,400 light years away. The star, known to be bright and rich in chemicals, is the type of object GHOST is intended to investigate.

Ultra-high resolution spectrograph, GHOST, captures observable light emissions from distant star.
Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/GHOST Consortium.

The U.S. National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab-operated Gemini South Telescope used its latest upgrade — GHOST, the Gemini High-resolution Optical SpecTrograph — to capture observations of HD 222925, a star more than 1,400 light years away. The star, known to be bright and rich in chemicals, is the type of object GHOST is intended to investigate.

“This is an exciting milestone for astronomers around the globe who rely on Gemini South to study the Universe from this exceptional vantage point in Chile,” said Jennifer Lotz, director of the Gemini Observatory. “Once this next-generation instrument is commissioned, GHOST will be an essential component of the astronomer’s toolbox.”

Spectrographs analyze light emissions from objects and provide information about chemical composition and stellar motion and can observe remnants of the ancient universe. GHOST has ten times the resolution of other visible spectrograph on Gemini South and is the most sensitive high-resolution spectrograph in use among comparably sized telescopes.

“With the successful commissioning of GHOST, NSF congratulates the instrument team on delivering to the international astronomy community enhanced capability to explore planets, stars, and galaxies,” said Martin Still, Gemini program officer at NSF. “We eagerly await the new discoveries.”

When the commissioning process is complete, GHOST will be available for all researchers to request observation time.

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Gemini Observatory

National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory, the US center for ground-based optical-infrared astronomy, operates the international Gemini Observatory (a facility of NSF, NRC–Canada, Gemini Argentina | Argentina.gob.ar, ANID–Chile, Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications [Ministério da Ciência, Tecnolgia, Inovação e Comunicações](BR), and Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute[알림사항])(KR)

National Science Foundation NOIRLab’s Gemini North Frederick C Gillett telescope at Mauna Kea Observatory Hawai’I, Altitude 4,213 m (13,822 ft).

The National Science Foundation NOIRLab National Optical Astronomy Observatory GEMINI North Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph [GMOS].

Mauna Kea Observatories Hawai’i, altitude 4,213 m (13,822 ft).

NSF NOIRLab NOAO Gemini South telescope on the summit of Cerro Pachón at an altitude of 7200 feet. There are currently two telescopes commissioned on Cerro Pachón, Gemini South and the Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope. A third, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, is under construction.

Gemini Observatory Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph [GMOS] on Gemini South

National Science Foundation NOIRLab National Optical Astronomy Observatory Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CL) Gemini Planet Imager on Gemini South, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) campus near La Serena, Chile, at an altitude of 7200 feet on the summit of Cerro Pachon.

NSF NOIRLab NOAO Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory(CL) approximately 80 km to the East of La Serena, Chile, at an altitude of 2200 meters.
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Gemini’s mission is to advance our knowledge of the Universe by providing the international Gemini Community with forefront access to the entire sky.

The NSF NOIRLab Gemini Observatory is an international collaboration with two identical 8-meter telescopes. The Frederick C. Gillett Gemini Telescope is located on Mauna Kea, Hawai’i (Gemini North) and the other telescope, Gemini South, on Cerro Pachón in central Chile); together the twin telescopes provide full coverage over both hemispheres of the sky. The telescopes incorporate technologies that allow large, relatively thin mirrors, under active control, to collect and focus both visible and infrared radiation from space.

The Gemini Observatory provides the astronomical communities in six partner countries with state-of-the-art astronomical facilities that allocate observing time in proportion to each country’s contribution. In addition to financial support, each country also contributes significant scientific and technical resources. The national research agencies that form the Gemini partnership include: the National Science Foundation, the Canadian National Research Council, the Chilean Comisión Nacional de Investigación Cientifica y Tecnológica, the Australian Research Council, the Argentinean Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva, and the Brazilian Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação. The observatory is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the NSF. The NSF also serves as the executive agency for the international partnership.

National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab (National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory ), the center for ground-based optical-infrared astronomy, operates the international Gemini Observatory (a facility of NSF, National Research Council Canada (CA), Agancia Nacional de IInvestigacion y Desarrollo (CL), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation [Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovações] (BR), <a href="http://“>Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation | Argentina.gob.Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación | Argentina.gob.(AR), and Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute[알림사항](KR), Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) , NSF NOAO Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CL), the NOAO Community Science and Data Center (CSDC), and Vera C. Rubin Observatory in cooperation with DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory ).

NSF NOIRLab NOAO Kitt Peak National Observatory on the Quinlan Mountains in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert on the Tohono O’odham Nation, 88 kilometers (55 mi) west-southwest of Tucson, Arizona, Altitude 2,096 m (6,877 ft).

NSF NOIRLab NOAO Kitt Peak National Observatory on Kitt Peak of the Quinlan Mountains in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert on the Tohono O’odham Nation, 88 kilometers (55 mi) west-southwest of Tucson, Arizona, Altitude 2,096 m (6,877 ft), annotated.

NSF NOIRLab NOAO Vera C. Rubin Observatory [LSST] Telescope currently under construction on the El Peñón peak at Cerro Pachón Chile, a 2,682-meter-high mountain in Coquimbo Region, in northern Chile, alongside the existing NSF NOIRLab NOAO Gemini South Telescope and NSF NOIRLab NOAO Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope.

It is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with National Science Foundation and is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona.
The astronomical community is honored to have the opportunity to conduct astronomical research on Iolkam Du’ag (Kitt Peak) in Arizona, on Maunakea in Hawaiʻi, and on Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachón in Chile. We recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence that these sites have to the Tohono O’odham Nation, to the Native Hawaiian community, and to the local communities in Chile, respectively.