An international collaboration, involving the United States, Britain, Canada, Chile, Australia, Argentina, and Brazil, that has built two identical 8.1-meter (26-foot) telescopes located at Mauna Kea, Hawaii (Gemini North) and Cerro Pachón in central Chile (Gemini South) to provide full coverage of both hemispheres of the sky. Both telescopes incorporate new technologies that allow large, relatively thin mirrors under active control to collect and focus optical and infrared radiation. Gemini North was dedicated in 1998 and Gemini South in 2001.
