Instrumentation suite at the MMT Observatory

M. Hastie; G. G. Williams

doi:10.1117/12.857331

14 July 2010 Instrumentation suite at the MMT Observatory

M. Hastie, G. G. Williams

Proceedings Volume 7735, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy III; 773507 (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.857331
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

In the ten years since the converted 6.5m MMT was dedicated the observatory has built up an impressive suite of instrumentation to compliment the three interchangeable secondary mirrors. This review paper presents an up-to-date perspective on all the capabilities of our full range of instrumentation, highlighting newly commissioned instruments (the MMT and Magellan InfraRed Spectrograph (MMIRS), an infrared spectrograph) and new modes or upgrades for established instruments (such as; Red Channel, the MMT's workhorse spectrograph, Hectochelle, an optical fiber-fed, multi-object spectrograph and the AO instruments CLIO, a 5 micron camera and BLINC, a mid-infrared camera). The MMT's pioneering adaptive secondary mirror can be used with both natural guide stars (NGS) or with a Rayleigh laser guide star (LGS) system. The LGS has recently demonstrated wide-field partial compensation with ground layer adaptive optics and here we present progress to date. Finally, we report on the start of a project to investigate how the instrument suite has contributed to the science productivity the MMT over the last 10 years.

Citation Download Citation

M. Hastie and G. G. Williams "Instrumentation suite at the MMT Observatory", Proc. SPIE 7735, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy III, 773507 (14 July 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.857331

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