The Gemini Observatory is an international partnership comprised of two 8.1-meter telescopes (each telescope has a main mirror over 26 feet across.) One telescope is located on Hawaii's Mauna Kea, and the other on Chile's Cerro Pachón. The name Gemini comes from the mythological twins, whose stars are visible to both telescopes.

With the advanced technology and unprecedented capabilities of Gemini, the sky's the limit! Included in Gemini's studies are regions where stars and planets are forming deep within cool gas clouds. In many instances, the Gemini telescopes outperform even the Hubble Space Telescope in both clarity and data collection.

In Astronomy, the clarity with which stars and other celestial objects can be observed is known as seeing. The thermal motion of the air and thin clouds are factors that can affect the seeing. In Astronomy, determining the seeing is vital as it is a deciding factor what type of observation can be carried out.

Operating as part of the control systems to determine the seeing, the Stealth SR-1500 Rack Mount PC and the FR-1000 slim rack LCD were selected for their high availability performance as well as their space saving dimensions. (1.75" high) Both units take only 2U of rack space total, thus leaving enough room for a CCD controller, UPS, network equipment and future enhancements to the system. Located atop a mountain at 2700 metres the environmental conditions are far from being ideal. The system has to run continuously with little maintenance, and use as little space as possible in the weatherproof rack.

The system has run flawlessly since its installation in April 2004.

For additional information on the Gemini Observatory navigate to the website at: http://www.gemini.edu