Gemini Observatory in the Era of Multi-Messenger Astronomy: High Image Quality and Rapid Response to Cosmic Events

双子座天文台运行着两台大型望远镜，一台在夏威夷，一台在智利。这两个望远镜为美国、加拿大、阿根廷、巴西和智利的天文学家提供了进入整个天空的途径。使用每个望远镜上的现代仪器，天文学家能够研究从小行星、彗星和附近的行星到巨大的超亮恒星和遥远的星系的一切。双子座目前正在制定计划，为新的十年的发现做好准备。本世纪20年代的天体物理学将被“多信使天文学”彻底改变，这是一个令人兴奋的新领域，它使用引力波和高能粒子，以及普通的日常光线，来研究宇宙中一些最奇异的物体和爆炸性事件。像NSF的激光干涉仪引力波天文台(LIGO)、NSF/威斯康星大学的冰立方南极中微子天文台，以及NSF的最新望远镜--大型天气观测望远镜(LSST)--将探测到这些“信使”，改变我们研究宇宙的方式。为了支持这些引人注目的新天文台，双子座将开发新的计算机软件和新的光学硬件，以便天文学家能够快速而详细地研究每一项新发现。除了惊人的发现和令人惊叹的科学，双子座还在教育、公共信息和外联活动方面处于领先地位。双子座的工作人员通过独特的项目将科学带给夏威夷和智利的社区，如宇宙之旅、天体日和Viaje al宇宙。有了这个新的奖项，他们将通过开发一个天文馆展示来扩大他们的影响范围，帮助公众更好地了解多信使天文学。双子座还将为教育者和传播者举办研讨会，以便他们也可以解释LIGO、冰立方、LSST和双子座在未来十年肯定会做出的令人兴奋的新发现。双子座已经提出了一项具有挑战性但非常令人兴奋的尖端发展活动计划，该计划符合NSF及其在双子座天文台的国际合作伙伴的战略目标。双子座-S现有的自适应光学(AO)能力的增强，特别是在茂纳凯亚的双子座-N，世界上最好的高分辨率成像地点之一，将确保该天文台在2020年代保持竞争力，为下一个十年末30至40米级望远镜的调试做准备。双子座的广视场声光校正红外成像将补充詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜的类似能力，该望远镜有望在本世纪20年代执行其主要任务。与此同时，双子座的工作人员将与其他国家机构合作，开发和成熟专门针对双子座在未来十年里为时间域和多信使天文学做好准备的软件，届时LIGO和LSST将推动许多最令人兴奋的科学发现。该提案的目标是确保双子座成为位置最好的8米级公共设施，用于后续活动，这显然符合国内外观测社区的意愿。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Gemini Observatory operates two large telescopes, one in Hawai'i and one in Chile. These two telescopes provide astronomers in the U.S., Canada, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile with access to the whole sky. Using modern instruments on each telescope, astronomers are able to study everything from asteroids, comets and nearby planets, to huge super-bright stars and distant galaxies. Plans are now under way at Gemini to prepare each telescope for a new decade of discovery. Astrophysics in the 2020s will be revolutionized by "Multi-Messenger Astronomy", an exciting new field that uses gravitational waves and high-energy particles, as well as ordinary everyday light, to study some of the most exotic objects and explosive events in the Universe. Facilities like NSF's Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), the NSF/University of Wisconsin IceCube South Pole Neutrino Observatory, and NSF's latest telescope, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), will detect these "messengers", changing the way we study the Universe. In support of these remarkable new observatories, Gemini will develop new computer software and new optics hardware so that astronomers can study each new discovery quickly and in high detail. In addition to making remarkable discoveries and doing amazing science, Gemini is also a leader in education, public information and outreach activities. Gemini staff bring science to the communities in both Hawai'i and Chile through unique programs such as Journey through the Universe, AstroDay, and Viaje al Universo. With this new award they will extend their reach by developing a Planetarium show that will help the public better understand Multi-Messenger Astronomy. Gemini will also run workshops for educators and communicators so that they too can explain the exciting new discoveries that will surely be made by LIGO, IceCube, LSST and Gemini over the coming decade. Gemini has proposed a challenging though very exciting program of cutting-edge development activities that are in line with NSF's strategic goals and those of its international partners in the Gemini Observatory. The enhancement of existing Adaptive Optics (AO) capabilities at Gemini-S and particularly Gemini-N on Maunakea, one of the best sites in the world for high-resolution imaging, will ensure that the observatory remains competitive in the 2020s, in the run-up to the commissioning of 30-to-40 meter class telescopes at the end of the coming decade. Wide-field AO-corrected infrared imaging at Gemini will complement a similar capability on the James Webb Space Telescope, which will hopefully be executing its prime mission in the 2020s. At the same time, in collaboration with other national facilities, Gemini staff will develop and mature software aimed specifically at preparing Gemini for time domain and multi-messenger astronomy in a decade when LIGO and LSST will drive many of the most exciting science discoveries. The proposal's goal of ensuring that Gemini is the best positioned public 8-meter class facility for follow-up activities is clearly consistent with the wishes of the observing communities at home and abroad.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.