The MMT showed off its new wide-field imaging capabilities in November with stunning first-light images from Megacam. The 340-million pixel instrument uses a mosaic of 36 CCDs, each with 2048 x 4608 pixels, to provide a field of view nearly 1/2 degree across (about the angular size of the full moon).
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics astronomer and Megacam developer Brian McLeod is shown in reflection off the instrument, and a highly shrunk version of a breathtaking color photo of M81 is testimony to the new capability of the telescope for surveying large regions of the sky to very faint limits. Megacam will see regular use for scientific observations at the MMT beginning March 2004.
