Managing target of opportunity (ToO) observations in queue mode at Gemini Observatory

Target of opportunity observations (ToO) are an integral part of multi-instrument queue operations at Gemini Observatory. ToOs comprise a significant fraction of the queue (20-25% of the highest ranking band) and with the advent of large survey telescopes (eg. Pan-STARRS, LSST) dedicated to searching for transient events this fraction may reasonably be expected to increase significantly in the coming years. While some important aspects of ToO execution at Gemini Observatory are managed automatically (eg. trigger alerts, data distribution), other areas such as duplications checking, scheduling and relative priority determination still require manual intervention. In order to increase efficiency and improve our commitment to ToOs and queue observing in general, these aspects need to be formalized and incorporated into improved phase 2 checking, automated queue scheduling and on-the-fly nightly plan generation software. We discuss the different flavors of ToOs supported at Gemini Observatory and how each kind is scheduled with respect to existing queue observations. We present ideas for formalizing these practices into a system of dynamical prioritization which automatically self adjusts as new ToO observations are triggered, high priority targets become endangered, and timing windows near expiration.