Gemini Science Software Blog

2021B PIT Released, GPP Video

Posted on 2021 March 4 by bmiller

The 2021B Phase I Tool (PIT) has been released in support of the 2021B call for proposals.

A recording of the AAS237 GPP webinar is available on YouTube.

Posted in Gemini Program Platform, Phase I Tool | Comments Off

2021A OT Released

Posted on 2020 December 10 by bmiller

The 2021A OT was released on December 9, 2020. The changes are relatively minor and are described here.

Explore, the core application of the Gemini Program Platform, is under construction and we will present a demonstration and collect feedback during a webinar as part of AAS237 on Monday, January 11 at 16:00 EST.

Posted in Gemini Program Platform, Observing Tool, OCS Upgrades | Comments Off

Gemini Program Platform passes Inception Review

Posted on 2020 July 13 by bmiller

The Gemini Program Platform (GPP) project passed its Inception Review (final design review) in July, 2020. The committee included Gemini staff, user representatives, and external experts in observatory operations and software development. The system will consist of a set of web applications tailored to specific uses (e.g. proposal preparation, logging, search, scheduling, observation execution) along with a central database and underlying services. More information, including the documentation, can be found here. Software construction has now begun.

Posted in Future, Gemini Program Platform, OCS Upgrades | Comments Off

2020B OT Released

Posted on 2020 June 8 by bmiller

The 2020B OT was released on June 2, 2020. The changes are fairly small and are described here.

We are also making progress with the Gemini Program Platform project. The Inception Review, akin a final design review, will be held at the end of June. The documents will be made available after the review.

Posted in Gemini Program Platform, Observing Tool, Uncategorized | Comments Off

New software releases and GPP progress

Posted on 2020 March 5 by bmiller

There have been two software releases in the past week.

First, the 2020B Phase I Tool (PIT) was released along with the 2020B call for proposals. The main change in this version is an update to the GeMS/GSAOI guide star analysis to account for the much greater sensitivity of the new NGS2 wavefront sensor.

Second, we released the 2020A.1.1.3 patch to the Observing Tool. We had to change the protocol for GAIA DR2 catalog query from http to https. This also required us to update some of the underlying libraries used for http queries. The GAIA DR2 catalog is used for GeMS/GSAOI guide star asterism searches. This release is optional unless you have observations using GeMS/GSAOI.

We are also making progress with initial designs for the main proposal submission, observation preparation and execution, and logging interfaces for the Gemini Program Platform (GPP). We are preparing for an inception, or design, review in Q2 of this year.

Posted in Gemini Program Platform, Observing Tool, OCS Upgrades, Phase I Tool | Comments Off

Gemini Program Platform CoDR Documents Available

Posted on 2019 December 6 by bmiller

Gemini has started a series of new projects designed to replace the current Observatory Control System (OCS) tools such at the Phase I Tool (PIT) and the Observing Tool (OT). A goal is to create new tools that are easier to use and more capable for supporting new instrumentation and new modes such as time domain astronomy. A core project in this effort, the Gemini Program Platform (GPP), recently passed its Conceptual Design Review (CoDR) and the documentation for the review can be found here.

Posted in Future, Gemini Program Platform, Observing Tool, OCS Upgrades, Phase I Tool | Comments Off

2020A OT Released

Posted on 2019 December 4 by bmiller

The 2020A.1.1.1 OT was released on December 3, 2019. The main changes are to support the new Natural Guide Star module (NGS2) in Canopus that significantly improves sensitivity and sky coverage. The GAIA DR2 catalog is now the default guide star catalog for Canopus guide stars and we hope to use this catalog for all wavefront sensor in the future.

Posted in 2019 December Release, Observing Tool | Comments Off

2019A ITC Observation Overheads

Posted on 2018 September 24 by astephens

The 2019A version of the Gemini Integration Time Calculators (ITCs) gives estimates of the observing overheads for all instruments and modes (except for GSAOI which will be released later). The overheads include the correct number of acquisitions (one for every 2 hours of science), detector readout, telescope offsetting, and time for re-centering of spectroscopic observations when required. These calculations make several assumptions about the observing strategy, so please review your results carefully.

Output for a GMOS long-slit observation with 16 x 10-minute exposures binned 1×2:

Posted in ITC, Public | Comments Off

2018B ITC Improvements

Posted on 2018 May 24 by astephens

The 2018B Integration Time Calculator (ITC) includes many improvements:
– Support for summing GMOS IFU elements with an aperture (see figure below)
– Automatically set the GSAOI Strehl in the web form
– Relabel obsolete components as “Unavailable” (while retaining functionality)
– Fix some NIRI filters with unnecessarily wide profiles
– Fix the GMOS nod & shuffle exposure time passed to the ITC from the OT
– Fix a problem causing occasional failures with the power-law input SED
– Fix failures with large user-supplied SEDs
– Remove unnecessary wavefront sensor options
– General cleanup of the web form

Posted in 2018 June Release, ITC, Public | Comments Off

Revert Changes

Posted on 2018 May 16 by astephens

The old OT has a way to “undo” mistakes by deleting the local copy of your program and re-downloading the previous version from the Gemini database. However, this is not obvious and the process is not intuitive. The new 2018B OT solves this by adding a “Revert Changes…” option to the “File” menu. This will re-download your program from the Gemini database, thereby reverting all your changes since the last time you clicked the “Sync” button. Note that if anybody else has made changes to your program and uploaded them to Gemini the “Revert Changes…” option will also pull in those changes since the program is being downloaded from the database. After selecting “Revert Changes…” the OT will ask for a final confirmation in the form of a pop-up:

Posted in 2018 June Release, Observing Tool | Comments Off