FLAMINGOS-2 Data Reduction Cookbook

The Gemini Observatory provides a variety of facility-class instruments for use by the professional astronomy community, including the FLAMINGOS-2 wide-field imager and multi-object spectrograph (sometimes abbreviated F2), which is deployed on Gemini-South. This imaging spectrograph offers useful sensitivity in the near-infrared (NIR) from \(0.95-2.4\mu m\), at high spatial resolution and low to moderate spectral resolution. FLAMINGOS-2 was constructed by the University of Florida Astronomy Department and delivered in 2009 July; it was refurbished and commissioned in 2011-December. The F2 Status and Availability page summarizes significant operations issues over the life of the instrument that may have affected the quality of the science data in the Archive.

Data from the commissioning periods to the present are offered in the Gemini Observatory Archive. Raw data for this instrument is archived and made available for public use, but no calibrated, science-ready products are provided. This Cookbook is intended as a guide to data reduction and calibration for PIs and Archive users of data from FLAMINGOS-2. The descriptions, recipes, and scripts offered in this Cookbook will provide the necessary information for deriving scientifically viable (but not necessarily optimal) spectra and images from F2. However, users should be aware that the ultimate utility of the data for any specific scientific goal depends strongly upon a number of external factors, including:

• the environmental conditions that prevailed at the time of the observations (see the Gemini data quality assessment process),
• the performance of the instrument,
• the observing procedures used to obtain the data,
• the scientific objectives of the original observing program.

The FLAMINGOS-2 instrument is very well documented on the Gemini/FLAMINGOS-2 website and in published papers. But it is not necessary to understand every detail of the instrument design and operation to reduce your data; links to relevant portions of the instrument literature will appear throughout this manual.

• 1. Introduction
  • 1.1. About This Cookbook
  • 1.2. Software Environment
  • 1.3. Data Downloads
  • 1.4. Data Packaging
• 2. Instrument Overview
  • 2.1. Optical Path
  • 2.2. Focal Plane
  • 2.3. Configurations
• 3. Data Processing Basics
  • 3.1. Calibrations
  • 3.2. Using the Python scripts
  • 3.3. Observing Log
• 4. F2 Imaging Tutorial
  • 4.1. Retrieving the Data
  • 4.2. Preparation
  • 4.3. Darks
  • 4.4. Flatfields
  • 4.5. Science targets
  • 4.6. Astrometric calibration
  • 4.7. Flux calibration
• 5. F2 Longslit Tutorial
  • 5.1. Retrieving the Data
  • 5.2. Preparation
  • 5.3. Darks
  • 5.4. Flatfields
  • 5.5. Arcs
  • 5.6. Telluric standards
  • 5.7. Science targets
  • 5.8. Flux calibration
• 6. F2 MOS Tutorial
  • 6.1. Retrieving the Data
  • 6.2. Preparation
  • 6.3. Darks
  • 6.4. Flatfields
  • 6.5. Arcs
  • 6.6. Telluric standards
  • 6.7. Science targets
  • 6.8. Flux calibration
  • 6.9. Outstanding issues
• 7. Useful Resources
  • 7.1. FLAMINGOS-2 Help
  • 7.2. Standards and Catalogs
  • 7.3. IRAF Reduction Tools
  • 7.4. Acknowledgements
  • 7.5. Literature references
• 8. Glossary