Gemini telescope system

The Gemini telescopes have to be near diffraction limited in the infrared (or contribute no more than 0.2 arcsecond to images in the optical). On windy sites like Mauna Kea and Cerro Pachon the telescopes have to be active in order to adueve this. The entire facility must therefore be considered as a system, which includes not just the telescope, but enclosure, acquisition and guiding philosophies as well as the instruments. 

Gemini North Observatory/CTI Mode-locked SFG Laser. CTT is developing the first commercial solid-state Na LGS system. It will be installed on the center section of the 8-m Gemini North telescope, with the output beam relayed to a projector behind the secondary mirror. The projected beam is required to be 10-20 W power, with M2 < 1.5. The architecture is based on sum-frequency mixing two mode-locked solid-state Nd YAG lasers. The mode-locked format provides significantly higher peak intensity than CW, enabling more efficient SFG conversion. The laser is also free of the thermal and intensity transients that are inherent in the macro pulse format. The chosen... 

The only 3D mapping system with LGSs under constmction today is that for the Gemini South 8m telescope at Cerro Pachon, Chile (Lllerbroek et al., 2002). It consists of 5 LGSs, 3 deformable mirrors with a total of 769 actuators and one 1020 subapertures wavefront sensor per LGS (Fig. 11). It is expected to be the most performing MCAO device. 

Adaptive Optics on 8 meter telescopes can offer significant scientific gains at near IR wavelengths. As part of the Science Requirements GEMINI will be implementing a facility Adaptive Optics System on the Mauna Kea telescope as part of the construction phase of the project. 

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