Physics – Optics
Scientific paper
Dec 1992
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1992aas...181.7407c&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, 181st AAS Meeting, #74.07; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 24, p.1239
Physics
Optics
Scientific paper
Recent progress in the project to convert the MMT from a six-mirror, partially-filled aperture, 4.5 m equivalent telescope into a filled-aperture, 6.5 m telescope is described. This conversion is being undertaken primarily to more than double the light-gathering power of the telescope and to increase its angular field of view from 3 arcminutes to a full degree. The f/1.25 6.5 m honeycomb mirror blank was successfully cast at the Steward Observatory Mirror Laboratory in April 1992. Generating and polishing are expected to begin in fall 1993 with completion scheduled at the end of 1994. The present schedule calls for the mirror to be transported to the summit of Mt. Hopkins in early 1995 at which time the 4.5 m MMT will cease operation to begin converting the telescope to a 6.5 m. In order of implementation, the three Cassegrain foci planned for the 6.5 m are: 1. f/9. This is the easiest focus to implement and allows for the immediate use of existing MMT instrumentation. First light for f/9 is scheduled for early 1996. 2. f/5.4. This focus uses a three-element refractive corrector to produce a full 1 degree field for the 6.5 m. It promises to be the most difficult focus to implement and its first light is scheduled in early 1997. 3. f/15. This focus is not yet fully defined, but is an IR/adaptive optics focus. Studies are underway to provide a fully adaptive f/15 secondary for adaptive optics applications. The required modifications to the existing MMT facility have already begun. In summer 1991, the grout under the building track was jack-hammered out and replaced with a higher strength grout--steel-plate combination to better distribute the load from the to-be-bulged building. In summer 1992, a 7000 pound, 6 foot diameter bearing was installed inside the yoke to provide the increased stiffness to the azimuth axis required for the 6.5 m telescope.
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