Latest News
Re-aluminization Testing and Preparations
Sep 01, 2015
Now that summer shutdown tasks have been completed and the MMTO has reopened, staff have resumed working at the UA Steward Observatory Sunnyside Coating Facility in preparation for the realuminization of the primary mirror scheduled for summer 2016. Currently, …
‘New Horizons’ Flyby of Pluto
Aug 05, 2015
Read commentary by Dr. Scott Kenyon, Senior Astrophysicist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, regarding the exciting mission to Pluto! The Smithsonian Institution and the UA jointly operate the MMTO.
Final August – December Observing Schedule and Program Titles
Jul 29, 2015
The final observing schedule for August 25-December 31 has been posted, along with Program Titles.
MMIRS returns to the MMTO!
Jun 30, 2015
The MMT and Magellan Infrared Spectrograph (MMIRS), commissioned at the MMTO in 2009, has returned from the Magellan-Clay telescope in Chile. It will be available as part of our suite of instruments later this year. More information can be …
Milky Way Inner Halo
Jun 10, 2015
Researchers at the CfA have released a new paper studying the halo of our Milky Way, using data from the MMT’s Hectospec of more than five thousand stars. The global motions of the stars help decode information about the …
Scientists Uncover Clues on Star Nicknamed “Nasty 1”
Jun 09, 2015
Astronomers have recently learned more about an unusual old star, using data from the MMT, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Magellan Observatory. The new observations show a disk of material around the star – something that has not …
Mt. Hopkins Rd
May 31, 2015
The road is open with no restrictions until further notice. Call 520-879-4422 for daily recorded updates.
Realuminization – Summer 2016
May 28, 2015
Realuminization of the MMT’s primary mirror has been deferred until summer 2016. Two factors guiding this decision were the state of the current coating and the status of a full-scale aluminizing test chamber being assembled at FLWO basecamp. Read more.
Recent …
MMIRS Data Reduction Pipeline
Mar 31, 2015
The MMT and Magellan Infrared Spectrograph (MMIRS) will be returning to the MMTO from Magellan this June. Observers interested in proposing for its spectroscopic capabilities may find this new paper of interest, which lists suggested observing guidelines and describes the publicly available …
MinMs Survey
Mar 18, 2015
Arizona State Univ. astronomers have recently completed MinMs (M-dwarfs in Multiples) – a new survey of 245 late-K to mid-M dwarfs within 15 parsecs. The survey uses, in part, the MMT adaptive optics system and ARIES to search for …