GPIES Begins

November 7th-12th was the first observing run of the Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey (GPIES).  This is an 890 hour campaign to discover and directly image new, young, giant planets around nearby stars using the GPI instrument.  This run also fell on the one year anniversary of GPI’s first light at the Gemini South observatory.  The data we collected over the last week mark the start of a three year campaign, which should produce dozens of new discoveries and will help advance our understanding of planetary formation and evolution.  Many thanks to the rest of the GPIES team and the crew at Gemini South for an incredible week.

99 Minutes of GPIES (including moonrise)

99 Minutes of GPIES