Jean-René Roy talks about the Gemini telescopes.

The two telescopes were built to take advantage of certain qualities of the instrumentation at the observatories; in particular, the goal is to produce the best images possible through our atmosphere despite turbulence and despite problems of variable transparency. The telescopes were also built to perform well in a region of the spectrum that has wavelengths longer than what our eyes can perceive, and which we call the infrared; specifically, the near-infrared and the mid-infrared. In the mid-infrared range, where the wavelengths are about 10 to 20 times longer than what our eyes can see, the waves kind of represent the heat that we feel coming from a hot source in our home. The optimization of these telescopes for the infrared was spurred on by the scientific desire to explore targets that are hidden by dust, which will help us better understand the formation of stars and planets, and to explore the farthest reaches of the Universe.

ASTROLab/Mont-Mégantic National Park

© 2006 An original idea and a realization of ASTROLAB of the National park of the Mount-Mégantic