Last September
21 we had the pleasure of counting in one of our
conferences on the eclipse to annul with the presence
of the teacher Carlos Videla Bonilla member of the
program Star Teacher 2005 of the observatory Gémini
of Chile. From here we want to give
thanks to Mr. Carlos Videla for his presence and
his interest in our group.
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AAC members with Carlos Videla Bonilla. |
The Gemini Observatory
consists of twin 8-meter optical/infrared telescopes
located on two of the best sites on our planet for
observing the universe. Together these telescopes
can access the entire sky.
The Gemini South telescope is located at almost
9,000’ elevation on a mountain in the Chilean
Andes called Cerro Pachón. Cerro Pachón
shares resources with the adjacent SOAR Telescope
and the nearby telescopes of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American
Observatory. The Frederick C. Gillett Gemini North
Telescope is located on Hawaii's Mauna Kea as part
of the international community of observatories
that have been built to take advantage of the superb
atmospheric conditions on this long dormant volcano
that rises almost 14,000' into the dry, stable air
of the Pacific. The Gemini Observatory’s international
headquarters is located in Hilo, Hawaii at the University
of Hawaii at Hilo’s University Park.
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Carlos
Viela Bonilla in the interamerican observatory
of Cerro Tololo. |
Both of the
Gemini telescopes have been designed to take advantage
of the latest technology and thermal controls to
excel in a wide variety of optical and infrared
capabilities. One example of this is the unique
Gemini coating chamber that uses "sputtering"
technology to apply protected silver coatings on
the Gemini mirrors to provide unprecedented infrared
performance.
