Program: GN-2020A-Q-104

The discovery of the gravitational wave (GW) transient GW170817, the first multi-messenger event observed through GWs and light, gave astronomers the unprecedented opportunity to probe a collision (or merger) of two neutron stars, solving decade-long mysteries about the origin of short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and the production of elements heavier than iron. GW170817 was followed by a delayed and long-lived afterglow radiation, produced by a relativistic jet seen at an angle of ~25 deg from its axis (off-axis). Future GW events, observed at closer distances or at more favorable angles, could be characterized by a luminous afterglow counterpart detectable by Gemini. Optical observations of GW afterglows, coupled with X-ray and radio data, will allow us to probe the structure of the relativistic outflow, the density of its surrounding environment, and, ultimately, the physical properties of compact binary mergers.