US National Gemini Office

If you took only a quick glance at this image, you might think that the dark patches occulting the stars were smoke, rising from the ground. In fact this dazzling image — taken on Maunakea, Hawai’i at the northern site of the international Gemini Observatory (right), a program of NSF NOIRLab — shows the Milky Way in vivid detail, allowing us to see not only the stars, but the dusty regions which block their light. Tiny flecks mostly inorganic matter make up cosmic dust which in turn forms enormous obscuring clouds. The dark, smoke-like trail through the heart of the Milky Way is one such cloud, known as the Great Rift, containing more mass than 1 million suns. Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/B. Tafreshi

📣 Gemini Announcement: ✨🔭The 2026B Regular Queue Call for Proposals is now open! 🇺🇸 For U.S. investigators, the submission deadline is March 31, 2026 at 23:59 MST. Start preparing your proposal today!
📸Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/B. Tafreshi

A multi-panel astronomical plot for the star SPLUS J2104-0049, showing its spectral energy distribution (SED) and imaging data. Top and Right Margins: A series of small, colored square thumbnail images showing the star at different wavelengths, ranging from ultraviolet (uJAVA) to near-infrared (zSDSS). Main Graph: A central plot of flux versus wavelength (in angstroms), ranging from 3,500 to 9,000 Angstroms. The spectrum: A jagged grey line representing the Gemini/GMOS spectrum, showing prominent absorption features like the CH G-band, Ca II H & K lines, and various Balmer lines. Photometry: Colored circles and squares represent narrow-band and broad-band flux measurements, labeled with their corresponding AB magnitudes. Filter Profiles: Large, overlapping, colored shaded regions at the bottom illustrate the transmission curves for the 12 different filters used in the S-PLUS survey.

Throwback post: 𝗦𝗣𝗟𝗨𝗦 𝗝𝟮𝟭𝟬𝟰-𝟬𝟬𝟰𝟵: 𝗔𝗻 𝗨𝗹𝘁𝗿𝗮 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹-𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝘆 by Placco et al. ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021ApJ...., using data from spluscollab, DataLabAstro, GeminiObs (PW), and LCOAstro!

#Astronomy

Gemini daily update

Queue programs observed at Gemini Observatory N/S on 03/03/26 (http://bit.ly/2KhLox3) #astronomy:

Gemini weekly footprint

Science observations @GeminiObs from 2026-02-26 to 2026-03-04: #astronomy

Here is a summary of observations from both Gemini telescopes in February 2026, divided by instrument and color-coded by location. Gemini's Ghost 👻 took the most observations last month, totaling over 2,200!

#Astronomy

Detailed information about the CfP is available here 🔗 gemini.edu/observing/ph... @noirlabastro.bsky.social #astronomy

If you took only a quick glance at this image, you might think that the dark patches occulting the stars were smoke, rising from the ground. In fact this dazzling image — taken on Maunakea, Hawai’i at the northern site of the international Gemini Observatory (right), a program of NSF NOIRLab — shows the Milky Way in vivid detail, allowing us to see not only the stars, but the dusty regions which block their light. Tiny flecks mostly inorganic matter make up cosmic dust which in turn forms enormous obscuring clouds. The dark, smoke-like trail through the heart of the Milky Way is one such cloud, known as the Great Rift, containing more mass than 1 million suns. Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/B. Tafreshi

📣 Gemini Announcement: ✨🔭The 2026B Regular Queue Call for Proposals is now open! 🇺🇸 For U.S. investigators, the submission deadline is March 31, 2026 at 23:59 MST. Start preparing your proposal today!
📸Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/B. Tafreshi

Gemini daily update

Queue programs observed at Gemini Observatory N/S on 03/02/26 (http://bit.ly/2KhLox3) #astronomy:

Screenshot of the US NGO web focused on the Queue Status section

📈 Want to track the progress of 26A US Gemini programs? The US NGO portal features daily updated plots 📊 for US programs observed at Gemini Observatory. Explore all and the most recently observed daily and weekly programs here 🔗 noirlab.edu/science/prog... @noirlabastro.bsky.social #astronomy

A glittering sky slips past Gemini South, ½ of the International
Gemini Observatory at @noirlabastro.bsky.social. Light collection doesn’t stop at sunrise: Gemini South is surrounded by 668 solar panels, collecting power to operate the telescope. #astronomy
📷 Gemini/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Horálek

Here is a summary of observations from both Gemini telescopes in February 2026, divided by instrument and color-coded by location. Gemini's Ghost 👻 took the most observations last month, totaling over 2,200!

#Astronomy

Screenshot of the US NGO web focused on the Queue Status section

📈 Want to track the progress of 26A US Gemini programs? The US NGO portal features daily updated plots 📊 for US programs observed at Gemini Observatory. Explore all and the most recently observed daily and weekly programs here 🔗 noirlab.edu/science/prog... @noirlabastro.bsky.social #astronomy

Gemini daily update

Queue programs observed at Gemini Observatory N/S on 03/01/26 (http://bit.ly/2KhLox3) #astronomy:

A glittering sky slips past Gemini South, ½ of the International
Gemini Observatory at @noirlabastro.bsky.social. Light collection doesn’t stop at sunrise: Gemini South is surrounded by 668 solar panels, collecting power to operate the telescope. #astronomy
📷 Gemini/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Horálek

Gemini daily update

Queue programs observed at Gemini Observatory N/S on 02/28/26 (http://bit.ly/2KhLox3) #astronomy:

Gemini daily update

Queue programs observed at Gemini Observatory N/S on 02/27/26 (http://bit.ly/2KhLox3) #astronomy:

Gemini daily update

Queue programs observed at Gemini Observatory N/S on 02/26/26 (http://bit.ly/2KhLox3) #astronomy:

An infrared image of the Chamaeleon Infrared Nebula, where a vibrant, wing-shaped cloud of orange and white gas streaks diagonally across a deep blue and black background. At the center of the “wing” is a bright, glowing point of light - a young star- emitting a faint, narrow reddish jet. The surrounding space is filled with wispy blue nebular clouds and scattered, bright stars, including one prominent white star with a pinkish glow on the right side of the frame.

This week’s image is of the Chamaeleon Infrared Nebula! Gemini South’s GMOS captured this stunning image of the nebula, which has allowed astronomers the opportunity to study the circumstellar disk of gas and dust orbiting the central star.

Check out the 🧵 for more papers!

#Astronomy

Two side-by-side comparison images of the Carina Nebula illustrate the impact of adaptive optics on astronomical imaging. Top image (Adaptive Optics): The nebula appears sharp and high-resolution. The craggy, pillar-like structures of gas and dust show intricate textures and fine, wispy details. The surrounding stars are tiny, crisp points of light. Bottom image (No Adaptive Optics): The same scene appears blurry and out of focus. The detailed features of the nebula are soft and smudged, and the stars appear as larger, glowing orbs rather than sharp points.

Throwback post: This week’s image is of the western wall of the Carina Nebula observed with Gemini-S GSAOI (top) and the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope (bottom). This comparison demonstrates the incredible resolution attainable with adaptive optics. 🧵

#Astronomy

Credit:
International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
Acknowledgments: Image processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), J. Miller (Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab) & D. de Martin (NSF NOIRLab)

A plot containing 4 different views of a spectral energy distribution (SED) for the star-forming dwarf galaxy PSO J175312.663+005122.078. The large plot on the left is a view of the SED between wavelengths ~4,800 - 8,300 Angstroms, with an inlet plot showing the SED between 4,000 and 23,000 Angstroms. To the right of these plots are two additional windows of the SED stacked on top of each other. The plot on top shows 6,500 - 6,750 angstroms, and the plot on the bottom shows 4,825 - 5,075 Angstroms. Each plot shows the DEIMOS spectrum in black and the fitted Prospector SED in orange. Each spectrum appears noisy with several peaks and dips visible corresponding to emission lines such as [N II], H-alpha, and [O III].

SN 2020jgb: A Peculiar Type Ia Supernova Triggered by a Helium-shell Detonation in a Star-forming Galaxy, by C. Liu et al. 2023

ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023ApJ....

15 near-ir images of 15 PASSAGES objects modeled in this paper arranged in three rows of four images and one row of three images at the bottom. Nine of the panels are RGB images made with Gemini-S r’ and z’ filters and the HST H band and the remaining six images are displayed in greyscale only showing the HST H band filter. Each panel contains a white bar at the top of the image, next to the source’s name, which represents 2”. Each image shows a bright cluster galaxy and a background galaxy that is being gravitationally lensed, so it appears elongated. In some images, an Einstein ring is formed due to the lensing.

PASSAGES: The Wide-ranging, Extreme Intrinsic Properties of Planck-selected, Lensed Dusty Star-forming Galaxies, by P. S. Kamieneski et al. 2024

ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024ApJ....

An infrared image of the Chamaeleon Infrared Nebula, where a vibrant, wing-shaped cloud of orange and white gas streaks diagonally across a deep blue and black background. At the center of the “wing” is a bright, glowing point of light - a young star- emitting a faint, narrow reddish jet. The surrounding space is filled with wispy blue nebular clouds and scattered, bright stars, including one prominent white star with a pinkish glow on the right side of the frame.

This week’s image is of the Chamaeleon Infrared Nebula! Gemini South’s GMOS captured this stunning image of the nebula, which has allowed astronomers the opportunity to study the circumstellar disk of gas and dust orbiting the central star.

Check out the 🧵 for more papers!

#Astronomy

Gemini daily update

Queue programs observed at Gemini Observatory N/S on 02/25/26 (http://bit.ly/2KhLox3) #astronomy:

From @noirlabastro.bsky.social: When the rising Sun decides to get a little… weird.

This serendipitous shot of the rising Sun from Maunakea combines several natural light effects, rendering our closest star almost unrecognizable. #astronomy

Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Rodriguez

Two side-by-side comparison images of the Carina Nebula illustrate the impact of adaptive optics on astronomical imaging. Top image (Adaptive Optics): The nebula appears sharp and high-resolution. The craggy, pillar-like structures of gas and dust show intricate textures and fine, wispy details. The surrounding stars are tiny, crisp points of light. Bottom image (No Adaptive Optics): The same scene appears blurry and out of focus. The detailed features of the nebula are soft and smudged, and the stars appear as larger, glowing orbs rather than sharp points.

Throwback post: This week’s image is of the western wall of the Carina Nebula observed with Gemini-S GSAOI (top) and the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope (bottom). This comparison demonstrates the incredible resolution attainable with adaptive optics. 🧵

#Astronomy

Gemini daily update

Queue programs observed at Gemini Observatory N/S on 02/24/26 (http://bit.ly/2KhLox3) #astronomy:

Gemini weekly footprint

Science observations @GeminiObs from 2026-02-19 to 2026-02-25: #astronomy

From @noirlabastro.bsky.social: When the rising Sun decides to get a little… weird.

This serendipitous shot of the rising Sun from Maunakea combines several natural light effects, rendering our closest star almost unrecognizable. #astronomy

Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Rodriguez

📣Update: Observations at the Gemini Observatory during March-May 2026 may now be proposed as part of this month's Fast Turnaround (FT) Program. Deadline: 12:00 pm (NOON), Hawaiian Standard Time (HST), February 28. More info gemini.edu/observing/ph... #astronomy @aura-astronomy.bsky.social