En esta nítida imagen de Gemini Norte, burbujas rosadas de gas de hidrógeno brillante se esparcen a lo largo de los brazos espirales de la galaxia espiral NGC 6946 que impacta de frente como una erupción. Esta sorprendente infusión de color es alimentada por el masivo nacimiento de estrellas masivas a través de NGC 6946; estas jóvenes estrellas calientes emiten copiosas cantidades de radiación ultravioleta hacia sus cubiertas de gas de hidrógeno, causando que las nubes brillen en rojo.

A Mysterious Rash of Star Birth

In this crisp Gemini North image, pink bubbles of glowing hydrogen gas spread across the arms of the face-on spiral galaxy NGC 6946 like a rash. This amazing infusion of color is fueled by the ubiquitous birth of massive stars throughout NGC 6946; these hot young stars blast copious amounts of ultraviolet radiation into their natal shrouds of hydrogen gas, causing the clouds to glow red. For reasons unknown, NGC 6946 has a much higher rate of star formation than all of the other large galaxies in our local neighborhood.

This exterior shot of Gemini South shows the result of the Gemini Multi-conjugate adaptive optics System (GeMS) with the Gemini South Adaptive Optics Imager (GSAOI) propagating a laser guide star toward the zenith. Gemini South acquired the 50-watt sodium Guide Star Laser System back in March 2010. It moved into regular operations soon thereafter.

This print only available from Gemini South The Gemini South telescope is located at an elevation of 2,737 meters on a mountain in the Chilean Andes named Cerro Pachón. Cerro Pachón shares resources with the adjacent SOAR Telescope and the nearby telescopes of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. It is expected that the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will join Gemini on Cerro Pachón during the second half of this decade. Both of the Gemini telescopes (Gemini North is in Hawai‘i) are designed to excel in a wide variety of optical and infrared capabilities.

Planetary First Family (left) Astronomers using the Gemini North telescope and W.M. Keck Observatory on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea have obtained the first-ever direct images identifying a multi-planet system around a normal star. The planets (indicated by b, c and d) formed about sixty million years ago and are young enough that they are still glowing from heat released as they contracted. Analysis of the brightness and colors of the objects shows that the objects range from about 7 to 10 times the mass of Jupiter.

The interacting galaxy pair NGC 1531 and NGC 1532 were imaged using the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) at Gemini South in Chile on December 5, 2004. This view reveals spectacular details in the galactic pair embraced in a fiery waltz. The larger galaxy (NGC 1532) is a spiral, and from our point of view within the Milky Way it is seen as nearly edge-on. Intense reddish star-forming regions spatter the edges of the dusty arms silhouetted in the foreground against the galactic disk.

This image shows the Gemini North Laser Guide Star system in operation during December of 2006. The yellow/orange beam of the laser is seen at the top of the telescope. The laser creates an artificial star by exciting a thin layer of sodium about 90 kilometers above the ground. This artificial star is used as a reference to allow most of the distortions caused by the Earth’s atmosphere to be removed and result in very sharp, high resolution near-infrared images. The Moon and the night sky are seen through the open vent gates in this 55-second exposure.

Gemini Sur se prepara para una noche de observación con las ventanas de ventilación del domo de par en par abiertas. El telescopio se observa dentro del domo mientras el sol se pone en el Pacífico en el centro/norte de Chile. Una luna de tres cuartos brilla en la altura. El telescopio de Gemini Sur (en el reverso de esta hoja) se ubica sobre los 2,737 metros en Cerro Pachón ubicado en Los Andes chilenos. Cerro Pachón comparte recursos con el telescopio adyacente de SOAR y con los telescopios cercanos del observatorio Interamericano de Cerro Tololo. El telescopio Frederick C.

Image only available form Gemini South. Gemini South prepares for an observing night with the dome vent gates wide open. The telescope is visible within the dome as the sun sets over the Pacific in Central Chile. A crescent moon shines brightly above the fading twilight. The Gemini South telescope (at right on image) is located at an elevation of 2,737 meters on a mountain in the Chilean Andes named Cerro Pachón. Cerro Pachón shares resources with the adjacent SOAR Telescope and the nearby telescopes of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory.

This Gemini Observatory image shows Jupiter’s two giant “red” spots brushing past one another in the planet’s southern hemisphere. This near-infrared image incorporates adaptive optics to correct, in real-time, for most of the distortions caused by turbulence in the Earth’s atmosphere. The result is a view from the ground that rivals images from space. In the near-infrared, the red spots appear white rather than the reddish hue seen at visible wavelengths. Both red spots are massive storm systems.