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Gemini e-Newscast #74
August 13, 2015
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Discovery and Characterization of the Most Jupiter-like Exoplanet Yet
Astronomers have used the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) on Gemini South to discover and characterize the most Jupiter-like planet ever found outside of the Solar System. Bruce Macintosh (Stanford University) and collaborators report in the journal Science of a planet likely having only twice the mass of Jupiter, with the strongest spectral signature of methane ever seen in the atmosphere of an exoplanet. The planet, a companion to the star 51 Eridani, is the lowest-mass self-luminous planet ever directly imaged. See the Gemini press release or full report in Science (subscription required).
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Discovery image of 51 Eri b with the Gemini Planet Imager taken in the near-infrared light on December 18, 2014. The bright central star has been mostly removed by a hardware and software mask to enable the detection of the exoplanet one million times fainter. Credits: J. Rameau (UdeM) and C. Marois (NRC Herzberg).
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GRACES Science Data Available
Initial science observations have been obtained with Gemini Remote Access to CFHT ESPaDOnS Spectrograph (GRACES). This collaboration among Gemini, the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, and NRC-Herzberg delivers high-resolution spectroscopy across the optical region. All the initial observations, including reduced data, are publicly available at the Gemini website:
http://www.gemini.edu/sciops/instruments/july-2015-onsky-tests in order to help users familiarize themselves with the data and instrument performance. A special thanks goes out to members of Gemini’s Science and Technology Advisory Committee (STAC) who helped select targets. Regular 2015B programs using GRACES are now being observed.
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Target field of view for GRACES observations of the nucleus of the galaxy NGC 6946.
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Gemini at the IAU General Assembly
Gemini continues to have a presence at the International Astronomical Union General Assembly in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Visit us at our exhibits at both the Maunakea Observatories and the National Science Foundation booths. Members of the Gemini Directorate have also presented talks featuring science highlights and future plans for instrumentation and operations.
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Gemini South Part of the First Dark Sky Sanctuary
The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) has designated the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) Observatory site in Chile, which includes Gemini South, as the first ever Dark Sky Sanctuary. This new IDA designation recognizes the need to protect the dark sites of the world. AURA and Chilean governmental groups collaborated to earn this recognition and will continue to work together to preserve the site’s character.
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