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Paper: Gemini Observatory Operations and Software for the 2020s
Volume: 522, Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems XXVII
Page: 635
Authors: Miller, B. W.; Stephens, A. W.; Nuñez, A.
Abstract: Gemini Observatory is planning several major software upgrades to improve usability and maintenance and to help prepare Gemini for the LSST, ELT, and JWST era. Gemini is currently a leader in target-of-opportunity (ToO) observing (e.g. SNe and GRB follow-up, solar system objects, eclipses, occultations) due to the dominant queue mode of observing. In the era of large transient surveys (e.g. iPTF, Catalina, Pan-STARRS, and especially LSST) and other transient surveys we expect that the follow-up of faint transient sources will become a very significant, if not dominant, use of Gemini. The next Gemini instrument, OCTOCAM, is being designed for transient follow-up. However, much of Gemini's software infrastructure is now more than 15 years old is not sufficiently user-friendly, scalable, or maintainable. Therefore, we are embarking on a series of upgrade projects with the goals of making Gemini easier to use, making the system more scalable and flexible, and ensuring that the system is maintainable for the next 15 years. This document will describe the ongoing projects for develop a new Observatory Control System (including a potential rewrite of the Observing Tool and an automated scheduling capability), and integrate into future ToO networks.
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