Gemini Observatory

Say it 3 times: Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse. Astronomers using @Geminiobs North found a hidden companion star orbiting inside Betelgeuse’s atmosphere, the first close-in companion ever seen around a supergiant star. 🔗 noirlab.edu/public/news/noir… 📷GeminiObs/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

🌌 More than 1,400 Hawaiʻi students explored astronomy during the 23rd Journey Through the Universe! From hands-on classroom activities to stargazing at Maunakea, the program brought the cosmos closer to the next generation. 📷 @GeminiObs/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. Pollard

🦂🔭 SCORPIO has arrived in Chile! The new facility-class instrument for the Gemini South telescope will provide powerful imaging and spectroscopic capabilities for studying rapidly changing phenomena across the Universe. 🔗 noirlab.edu/public/announcem… 📷@GeminiObs/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

🌌 What happens at @GeminiObs North after dark? This timelapse gives you a glimpse of a night of observing at Gemini North, located on Maunakea in Hawaiʻi. 🎥 Sean Goebel/International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

One Gemini South wasn’t quite enough for this sunset ✨ Thanks to a perfectly still patch of water on Cerro Pachón in Chile, the telescope appears to have a twin reflected beneath it. Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/C. Corco

Cause baby, you're a firework 🎤🎆 This is Pa 30, an explosive cloud of gas and dust bursting from a central hot blue star. Astronomers say it’s the likely remnant of a supernova that people on Earth saw in the year 1181. 📸 International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

Let’s go, airglow! 🧡 An orange glow hangs over Gemini North on Maunakea in Hawaiʻi. It’s airglow — light from atoms in Earth’s upper atmosphere. Orion and Sirius shine beyond. 📸 International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/T. Slovinský

🌌 What’s it like to be a telescope working the night shift? This timelapse from the @Geminiobs South telescope in Chile follows several hours of observations as the GMOS System sends its laser into the sky. 📹: @Geminiobs /NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Paredes

What’s it like to drive up Cerro Pachón in Chile after the July storm? 🚙❄️ There’s still a little snow on the mountain, making for some spectacular views along the way. This footage was taken in September 2026. 📹 NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/C. Corco

POV: You’re at @GeminiObs South and decide to look up Gemini South beneath the Milky Way, with our galaxy's center glowing overhead. 🌌 📷: International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab/AURA/Kwon O Chul

The Anglerfish Cluster 🦑✨ This galaxy cluster is so massive that its gravity warps space-time, turning it into a natural cosmic lens. Hubble saw only part of it, @GeminiObs North revealed the rest. 📸: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

A team of astronomers have discovered the most distant proto-supercluster ever found 🤯 Known as COSMOS-z3.1-A, this enormous ancestor to a “cluster of clusters” of galaxies has a mass equivalent to about 5,000 Milky Ways. 🔗 noirlab.edu/public/news/noir… 📷CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA

If you want to bake a cake, you might have to crack a few… comets? 🥚 The shattered remains of comet C/2025 K1 as seen by @GeminiObs North 📸 @GeminiObs/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/B. Bolin, J. Miller & M. Rodriguez, T.A. Rector, M. Zamani B. Bolin, C. Ingebretsen, M. MacGregor

Six Hawaiʻi Island students helped bring a new Gemini North image to life! They selected the interacting galaxies NGC 7253, and gave this Hawaiian name: ✨ Nā ʻUhane Māhoe Huki Pū i ke Ola, “The Twin Spirits Pulling Together Creating Life” 📷@GeminiObs/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

☀️ Sun: Throws a 4.5 billion-year party. ☄️Comet 3I/ATLAS: Gatecrashes at 153k mph. This Gemini South image gives us a rare glimpse into an ancient, alien star system. 📷 International @GeminiObs/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/B. Bolin, J. Miller, M. Rodriguez, T.A. Rector and M. Zamani

Space invaders? 🛸 Nope. Gemini South’s laser system is creating a 5-star constellation 90 km up to fight its worst enemy: atmospheric turbulence. These "stars" let the telescope correct blurring in real-time. 📷: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/AURA/NSF/M. Paredes

Last week, this Gemini South image was selected as @SpaceDotCom's Space Photo of the Day! 🔭 bit.ly/4fisphG Gemini South is 1/2 of the International @GeminiObs, supported in part by @NSF & operated by NSF NOIRLab. 📸International @GeminiObs/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Horálek

The Milky Way intertwines with interstellar dust to create a brilliant bridge of light. On the left is Gemini North, 1/2 of the International @GeminiObs. On the right, the lava from the Kīlauea volcano glows orange. 📷@GeminiObs/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. Chu

The “Once in a Rubin Gem” Director's Discretionary Time program is LIVE! This initiative has a zero-proprietary period and focuses on exciting & unexpected discoveries by NSF–DOE @VRubinObs's Legacy Survey of Space and Time. Submit observing requests ➡️ bit.ly/4b2bGwL

The @GeminiObs 2026B observing programs and schedule have been announced. Note that the latest version of the Observing Tool is required to access and update 2026B programs. For more information ➡️ bit.ly/4wky8t6