Editing Gemini Observatory (section)

=== UK funding crisis ===
In November 2007 it was announced that the UK's [[Science and Technology Facilities Council]] (STFC) had proposed that, to save £4 million annually, it would aim to leave the telescope's operating consortium. At a consortium meeting in January 2008, the conclusion was made that the UK would officially withdraw from the Gemini Partnership and the Gemini Observatory Agreement effective February 28, 2007.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}  This decision significantly disrupted observatory budgets, and resulted in the cancellation of at least one instrument in development at that time, the Precision Radial Velocity Spectrograph.

Since the reason for the UK breaking its part of the agreement seemed to be entirely financial, there was public outcry, including the "Save Astronomy" movement<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saveastronomy.org.uk/ |title=Study Astronomy Online |publisher=Saveastronomy.org.uk |access-date=2013-11-15 |archive-date=2013-08-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808030439/http://www.saveastronomy.org.uk/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> which asked citizens to speak up against the astronomy budget cuts. The UK rethought their decision to withdraw from Gemini, and requested reinstatement into the agreement, and were officially welcomed back on February 27, 2008. However, in December 2009 it was announced that the UK would indeed leave the Gemini partnership in 2012, as well as terminating several other international science partnerships, due to continuing funding limitations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.physicstoday.org/politics/2009/12/uk-physics-budget-slashed.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20091222084611/http://blogs.physicstoday.org/politics/2009/12/uk-physics-budget-slashed.html |archive-date=December 22, 2009|website=physicstoday.org|title=UK physics budget slashed}}</ref>