|
Français | Contact Us | Help | Search | Canada Site | ||||
| |
Home | Site Map | Program Guides |
Program News |
On-line Services |
|||||
| About NSERC | Funding | |||||||||
| |
 |
|||||||||
|
|
Eye on Universe Opens for Canada: New Gemini telescope officially
dedicated
June 25, 1999 - (Mauna Kea, Hawaii) - Today, the first of two Gemini telescopes, Gemini North, was officially dedicated near the summit of Mauna Kea. Gemini North and its partner, Gemini South in Chile, are among the world's largest and most advanced telescopes. These are a revolutionary new class of super telescopes, incorporating the latest in corrective optics that will enable them to produce images rivalling those from the Hubble Space Telescope. Together, the two telescopes comprise the Gemini 8-meter Observatories, a collaborative project involving seven nations, including Canada. Canadian construction funds were provided by NRC (National Research Council of Canada), NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada), and the WESTAR consortium of universities. The Honourable John Manley, Minister of Industry, congratulated the Gemini project team. Canada has been heavily involved in the $US184 million project that will provide unprecedented access to Canadian astronomers for the study of star formation, distant galaxies, and planets outside the solar system. "Bringing this telescope on stream has been a major achievement for our scientific community," said Minister Manley. "It also highlights the value of international collaborations on large science projects. For our contribution, Canada has gained a 14 per cent share of observing time on this telescope and its sister in central Chile. Together, the twin Gemini telescopes will give our astronomical community unparalleled access to the sky of both hemispheres." Gemini has been identified as the astronomical community's highest priority, and most Canadian astronomers are eagerly awaiting their chance to use Gemini. A large team of Canadian scientists, engineers, technologists and software developers has been involved in Gemini development. "With the new Gemini telescopes, Canadian astronomers have a superb and powerful tool that will give them exceptional opportunities to explore the universe from the nearest planets and stars to the most distant galaxies," stated Canadian Project Scientist Dr. Jean-René Roy of Université Laval. The first high-resolution images from Gemini North reveal the remarkable power of the telescope's technologies, which minimize distortions that have always blurred astronomical images obtained from the ground. The clarity of these images is equivalent to resolving the separation between a set of automobile headlights at a distance of 2,000 miles. Some funding for operations will be provided by NRC. A Canadian Gemini Operations Office is located at NRC's Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics in Victoria, British Columbia. The high tech domes that house the ultra-thin 8-metre mirrors of the two telescopes were built by the Vancouver-based steel engineering firm AGRA Coast. Researchers will continue to test and fine tune the features of the new telescope before full scientific operations begin in the year 2000. High-resolution versions of the infrared images obtained by Gemini North and digital photographs of Gemini North and Gemini South will be available at 11 a.m. EST at: http://www.gemini.edu For more information, please contact: Dr. Andy Woodsworth Dr. Stéphanie Côté Dr. Jean-René Roy |
||||||||
 | ||||
|
|
Important Notices | ||
