MMT Instrumentation

When the new 6.5-m telescope of the MMT Observatory becomes available for community access, the instrumentation will include the MMT spectrograph (red or blue channel), the MiniCam CCD imager, and several "PI" instruments (including the PISCES 1-2.5 m IR camera, the MIRAC3 mid-infrared imager, the SPOL CCD imaging spectropolarimeter, and FSPEC near-IR spectrometer). PI instruments can only be used in collaboration with the instrument's principal investigator. Anyone who wishes to use a PI instrument must consult with the PI and obtain a letter of approval and consent which should be submitted with the proposal. Obviously, none of the instruments have been used on the new telescope so their actual performance on the sky is unknown at this time.

Once the telescope and facility instruments are commissioned, we will try to include them in the exposure time calculator available for NOAO instruments. Until then, observers can estimate exposure times based on the increased aperture and reduced number of reflections in the "new" MMT as compared to the old.

See a preceding article concerning proposals for time on the new MMT, or check http://www.noao.edu/scope/mmt for details. Current information on MMT instruments available for community use is available on the MMT's public access website (http://sculptor.as.arizona.edu/foltz/www/public_access.html).

Craig Foltz