MMT Observatory ( MMTO ) is an astronomical observatory located on the territory of the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory ( IAU code for the observatory is 696). Whipple Observatory Complex is located on Mount Hopkins, Arizona , USA (55 km south of Tucson ) in the Santa Rita Mountains. [1] The observatory is led by the University of Arizona and the Smithsonian Institution . The Observatory Visitor Center is located in the neighboring city of Amadu, Arizona. In the MMTO there is an MMT (formerly Multiple Mirror Telescope), in which a primary mirror with a diameter of 6.5 m is installed. This name is due to the fact that initially the mirror for collecting light consisted of 6 small mirrors. The current lightweight mirror has a special honeycomb shape created in the mirror laboratory of the Arizona University Steward Observatory. The MMT is housed in a building that allows the walls and roof to be completely pushed around the telescope. This ability allows the telescope to cool very quickly, which, in turn, improves the quality of observations .
| MMT Observatory | |
|---|---|
| The MMT Observatory | |
 View of the MMT Observatory | |
| Type of | Optical telescope |
| Location | Hopkins Mountain, Arizona, USA |
| Coordinates | |
| Height | 2616 m |
| opening date | May 9, 1979 |
| Diameter | 6.5 m |
| Mount | Alt-azimuth mount |
| Code | 696 |
| Site | mmto.org |
Multiple Mirror Telescope (1979-1998)
Between 1979 and 1998, the MMT worked with 6 borosilicate mirrors of 1.8 meters each. These mirrors were previously used at the Piloted Orbital Laboratory and after canceling the KH-10 reconnaissance mission (code name DORIAN) NRO transferred them to the use of MMTO. They provided a collecting surface equivalent to a 4.5-meter mirror. This made MMT the third largest optical telescope in the world at the time of commissioning. [2] The telescope was distinguished by such ambitious design innovations as the building rotating around the axis and the alt-azimuth mount , which were proposed by Eden Minel .
With the exception of the Large Azimuthal Telescope (BTA-6) and the 40-foot William Herschel telescope, the main optical telescopes before MMT used an equatorial mount . The MMT marked a change in the design of telescopes; all the main optical telescopes after MMT were built using an alt-azimuth mount. Several technologies, first introduced in the MMT, contributed to the success of the next generation of large telescopes. These include: servo drives with a wide dynamic range for alt-azimuth mounts; high-precision guidance, eliminating the need for sky maps; combination and sharing of several telescopes; improvement of optical characteristics due to the thermal environment of the object. [2]
MMT (1998 — current time)
One of the reasons for the unusual design of MMT with multiple mirrors was the difficulty of casting large mirrors. The solution to this problem was found by Roger Angel of the Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, which cast mirrors with a honeycomb structure inside a rotary kiln. [3] This allowed the replacement of 6 mirrors with one 6.5-meter. The building and part of the structure remained the same. The new mirror was the first with a size that was cast and polished in the mirror laboratory of the Steward Observatory. The updated MMT (its name is no longer an abbreviation) was reopened on May 13, 2000. [2]
At the end of 2002, a new deformable secondary mirror was added to the telescope. [4] While the designs of adaptive optics (AO) make adjustments with the help of additional mirrors, minimizing the amount of warm surfaces in the path of light gives better results in the infrared range . The MMT AO system made a great contribution to the development of the Large Binocular Telescope , which reached a record Strehl number with the AO system in 2010.
Between 2004 and 2010, approximately 8% of the MMT observation time was available to the entire astronomical community through the National Science Foundation's Telescope Measurement System (TSIP) Program , managed by the National Optical Astronomical Observatory (NOAO) . [5] [6]
Notes
- ↑ The Story of the Observatory . MMT Observatory. Date of treatment November 13, 2013.
- ↑ 1 2 3 History of the Telescope . MMT Observatory. Date of treatment November 13, 2013.
- ↑ Trend-setting MMT Rededicated After Major Mirror Transplant . Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (2 July 2000). Date of treatment January 27, 2015. Archived March 11, 2007.
- ↑ Astronomers Get Ultrasharp Images With Large Telescope in Arizona . The University of Arizona News (March 3, 2003). Date of treatment January 27, 2015.
- ↑ Community Access to the 6.5-m Telescope of the MMT Observatory . National Optical Astronomy Observatory (February 26, 2013). Date of treatment January 27, 2015.
- ↑ Telescope System Instrumentation Program (TSIP ) . National Optical Astronomy Observatory (July 29, 2011). Date of treatment January 27, 2015.
Links
- MMT Observatory (MMTO )
- Adaptive Optics MMT (English)
- Clear Hour for Mount Hopkins (English) Weather Forecast for Observations
- Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) (eng.)
- University of Arizona Steward Observatory