Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Feb 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010head...11.4005r&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, HEAD meeting #11, #40.05; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 41, p.721
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
The FLAMINGOS-2 instrument achieved high-quality first-light observations on the Gemini South telescope in September 2009 and is undergoing further testing and scientific commissioning into early 2010. Based on the results so far, FLAMINGOS-2 (F2) on the Gemini 8-meter telescope is an extremely powerful wide-field near-infrared imager and multi-object spectrograph. In order to take best advantage of the strengths of F2 early in its life cycle, we propose to use 21 nights of Gemini guaranteed time in 3 surveys - the FLAMINGOS-2 Early Science Surveys (F2ESS). The F2ESS will encompass 3 corresponding scientific themes - the Galactic Center, extragalactic astronomy, and star formation. In particular, the Galactic Center Survey will identify the IR couterparts to several hundred new X-ray binaries in the Galactic Center. This will allow us to identify the nature of the mysterious Chandra source population in the Galactic Center and provide tremendous opportunities for multi-wavelength follow-up observations. In addition, the "by-catch" of this survey will be a catalog of several thousand red giant branch stars with accurate spectroscopy -- these can be used to measure the star formation history of the Galactic Center and thus constrain the mass evolution history of the supermassive black hole in Sgr A*. In this poster, I review the plans for carrying out this survey with F2, data analysis plans and software, and the expected scientific impact from this powerful new observational tool.
Flamingos-2 Galactic Center Survey Team
Raines Steven Nicholas
No associations
LandOfFree
The FLAMINGOS-2 Galactic Center Survey does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with The FLAMINGOS-2 Galactic Center Survey, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The FLAMINGOS-2 Galactic Center Survey will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1094475