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Gemini e-Newscast #80
February 17, 2016
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Gemini Confirms a Free-Floating Planet
Gemini observations confirm the identity of an extremely red object as a planet. This is a free-floating member of the Beta Pictoris moving group. Spectral confirmation of the object’s group membership verifies the age, and therefore the mass estimate is more secure, at 8.3 ± 0.5 times the mass of Jupiter. K. Allers of Bucknell University led the work, which was based on observations using the Gemini Near-InfraRed Spectrograph (GNIRS) on the Gemini North telescope in a Director’s Discretionary time program. More information about this work is available at the Gemini webpage, and full results will appear in The Astrophysical Journal. A preprint is available now.
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Our observed spectrum of PSO J318.5−22 (black) compared to the forward model with our best fit parameters (red). The median residual of the fit is 0.079 (in normalized Fλ units), which is larger than the median uncertainty (0.048) of our observed spectrum. The rms of the residuals (0.12) indicates systematic uncertainties of ≈10%.
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New Gemini International Agreement Signed
The new Gemini International Agreement has been signed by all Participants, representing the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. The agreement is in effect through 2021. It includes provisions for additional Participants to join, or to engage in a Limited-Term Collaboration. Korea and Australia will continue as Limited-Term Collaborators through 2016. The full agreement is posted at the Gemini website.
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Planning for Gemini’s Future
The Gemini Board has established Operational Guidelines for the period of the new International Agreement and is developing the vision for later years. As the Operational Guidelines state, “Their aim is to help the Observatory build upon its existing strengths, strengthen the partnership, and increase scientific productivity.” We will continue to be guided by our mission statement, “to advance our knowledge of the Universe by providing the international Gemini Community with forefront access to the entire sky.” To this end, the Gemini Board has established a Strategic Vision Committee to develop the conceptual framework for the observatory beyond 2021. The Gemini Director and select Board members comprise this committee, and they will seek broad input from users and other stakeholders in this effort. Subsequently, the Observatory will be responsible for developing the Strategic Plan, which will be the “detailed roadmap” to achieve this future vision. You can read the full Operational Guidelines and the charge to the Strategic Vision Committee, which are on the Gemini website.
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Gemini Publications: Did We Miss Yours?
Gemini Observatory maintains a database of user publication at an easy-to-query web page. We seek your help in identifying any missing entries, especially in 2014 and 2015. Please send the record of any missing publication to the Gemini librarian, Xiaoyu Zhang (xzhang@gemini.edu).
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