MMT
From Free net encyclopedia
MMT can also refer to Methylcyclopentadienyl Manganese Tricarbonyl, an additive for automotive gasoline.
The MMT (Multiple Mirror Telescope) is a 6.5-meter telescope located on the summit of Mount Hopkins, in the Santa Rita Mountains in southern Arizona.
The telescope is operated by the MMT Observatory, a joint venture of the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Arizona located on the grounds of the Whipple Observatory. The MMT operated between 1987 (when its construction was completed) and 1998 with 6 mirrors, each with a diameter of 1.8 meters, providing in total the equivalent gathering area of a 4.5-meter telescope. One of the reasons for its original multiple mirror design was the difficulty of casting large mirrors. This was solved by Roger Angel of Steward Observatory, of the University of Arizona, who cast mirrors with a honeycomb structure in the interior of a rotating oven. This made it possible to replace the six mirrors with a six-meter one. The original building and part of the structure could be reused. The new mirror was cast and polished in the mirror laboratory at the University of Arizona. The new MMT was rededicated in May 2002. Template:Observatory-stub