Who Owns Gemini?
Giant modern telescopes such as Gemini North and Gemini South cost around A$100 million or more each. As such, they are too expensive for most universities or individual countries to own and operate. Instead, they are typically built and run by international consortia. Gemini is built and run by an international partnership of Australia, the USA, UK, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. It has two offices, one in Hilo, Hawaii, the other in La Serena, Chile. Astronomers and engineers from all these countries helped design and build the telescopes, and astronomers from all these countries get to use them. Each partner country has a national Gemini office which supports users in that country. The Gemini Observatory partners, funding agencies, and partner shares are currently: • USA (National Science Foundation) – 50.1% • UK (Science & Technology Facilities Council) – 23.8% • Canada (National Research Council) – 15.0% • Australia (Australian Research Council) – 6.
