1. Getting started

1.1. Step-by-step examples

If you are a new user to GMMPS and you have it already running, then the best way forward is to follow these three step-by-step examples:

1. GMOS-S: A simple redshift survey

2. GMOS-S: A system of globular clusters (band-shuffling mask)

3. FLAMINGOS-2: Knots in a star-forming region

1.2. Download

GMMPS 1.5.2 comes with the source code and example images. The latest version is recommended. At least version 1.4.5 is required. It is available from here (155 MB).

The following instruments are supported:

• GMOS-N (Hamamatsu CCDs)

• GMOS-S (Hamamatsu CCDs)

• FLAMINGOS-2

Included is the new waveMapper Skycat plugin. It can be used to plan the central wavelength settings for the GMOS long-slit, IFU-R and IFU-2 modes. This is independent of the mask making aspects of GMMPS.

Latest changes

Note

Not all features in the original design specifications have been implemented in the current version (e.g. curved slits, and some of the desired interactivity). Many other features have been included, though, for which the necessity arose over time. Amongst them are wavelength displays, further automation, much improved user friendliness, and internal consistency checks.

1.3. Dependencies

Running GMMPS requires a standard unix-like X11 environment. MacOS users should install XQuartz. Users of recent Ubuntu releases should start a Xorg session.

Compiling GMMPS from sources requires a C/C++ compiler, make, and X11 development libraries. MacOS users will need to download Xcode from the Mac App Store and run it at least once to install various components.

GMMPS now comes with all the packages required to compile it including Tcl/Tk and Skycat. They are installed into the bin and lib directories of GMMPS to keep them isolated from any other versions on your system.

The Gemini IRAF package is also needed to create the input object tables and, if necessary, pseudo-images.

1.4. Installation

Unless there are known compilation issues for your operating system you should first try to compile GMMPS from source. This helps ensure compatibility with your system and avoids Gatekeeper problems on macOS 10.15 (Catalina) and newer. There are known problems with compiling GMMPS on Ubuntu 17/18, and Fedora 28 and macOS 11.0. Please use the compatible binary releases on these operating systems.

To compile GMMPS from raw sources, do:

tar xvfz gmmps-<version>.tgz
cd gmmps-<version>
./install.sh

Finally, put /some_path/gmmps-<version>/bin/gmmps in your path.

Pre-compiled versions of GMMPS are available for macOS and a few standard flavors of Linux from the NOIRLab web site. The compatibility list is not exhaustive, it only lists systems that have been tested.

File	Compiled on	Compatible With
gmmps-1.5.2_rh7_64.tgz	CentOS 7	Ubuntu 17/22
gmmps-1.5.2_ub16_64.tgz	Ubuntu 16.04	Ubuntu 17/22
gmmps-1.5.2_macos.tgz	macOS 10.13.6	macOS 10.14/14

Untar the distribution file and then:

cd /some_path/gmmps-<version>
./gmmps_config.sh

to configure the paths in the GMMPS startup script (./bin/gmmps).

If you install the pre-compiled Mac binaries on macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or 11.0 (Big Sur) then the first time that you run it you will need to give each executable permission to run. You can do this by opening System Preferences and selecting Security & Privacy -> General and click on Open Anyway. Finally, click Open in the next dialog. This has to be done multiple times. All this can be avoided by compiling from source (see above) or by opening System Preferences, selecting Security & Privacy, Privacy, and then Developer Tools from the left-hand list. Finally, click on the padlock to allow changes and click the checkbox next to Terminal icon to allow execution of command line applications that do not meet the security policies.

If you are not able to compile or run GMMPS on a machine, then one alternative is to run it in a compatible operating system within a virtual machine. Gemini has one Linux virtual machine available for running GMMPS when a local installation is not possible. Please submit a helpdesk ticket to request a temporary account on this machine.

1.4.1. Compilation notes for macOS users

You must use macOS 10.6 or later. There might be a version conflict depending on which compiler suite (clang, gcc) was installed on your Mac, and how it was installed (homebrew, Xcode, …). To test whether you are affected, do the following:

cd gmmps-<version>/src/
make

If this runs without errors then you are fine. Just execute the installation script.

If you encounter a problem, edit src/Makefile. Therein, you find the following section:

# For Darwin / uncomment if needed
ifeq ($(os),Darwin)
#  CC=gcc
#  CXX=g++
#  INCLUDE_DIRS += /usr/X11R6/include/X11
#  INCLUDE_DIRS += /usr/X11R6/include
#  INCLUDE_DIRS += /opt/include/X11/
#  INCLUDE_DIRS += /opt/X11/include
#  LIBRARY_DIRS += /usr/X11R6/lib
#  LIBRARY_DIRS += /opt/X11/
endif

If you have gcc/g++ installed (not the clang derivatives), uncomment the lines that set the CC and CXX variables and try again. Perhaps you need to provide the full path to the executables to distinguish them from their clang cousins.

The make utility should then be able to automatically pick up the relevant include and library paths. If not, try uncommenting one or more of the INCLUDE_DIRS and LIBRARY_DIRS lines.