The MMT primary mirror was successfully recoated on September 2, with the coating being uniform across the entire mirror. The measured reflectivity in the blue (at 400nm) is 91.6%, the best achieved at the MMT to date. A minor imperfection is a thin coating along a small area of the south edge (around 6:30) where the glass was shadowed by aluminum foil used to protect the mylar vacuum barrier. Take a look at a photo (you can zoom in), the reflectance plot, and a video of the shot!

There is a Public Affairs Specialist opening for the Smithsonian Institution with our colleagues at the F.L. Whipple Observatory at Mt. Hopkins. Details can be found here.

Our AO system (f/15 secondary) will be undergoing significant renovation beginning in 2017 and will be unavailable for an estimated 18 months. Improvements to the system will include new software and hardware, a realuminized secondary mirror, and upgrades to the ARIES instrument (PIs D. McCarthy and C. Kulesa). The currently scheduled October 2016 observing run will be supported as usual. One or two runs in early 2017 are anticipated, with the normal proposal deadlines and TAC assessment, before the AO system is taken offline.