Latest News
Trevor C. Weekes
May 28, 2014
Dr. Trevor C. Weekes, pioneering figure in the study of very high energy gamma rays, passed away on May 26th. Dr. Weekes played key roles in the selection of the Mt. Hopkins summit as the site for the MMTO, and …
Close Companions to Two High-Redshift Quasars
Apr 28, 2014
I. McGreer (Steward Observatory) and his collaborators have reported the serendipitous discovery of companion galaxies to two high-redshift quasars, one of which was identified with observations using the MMT’s Red Channel Spectrograph! Both companions are among the brightest galaxies known …
Mt. Hopkins Road Closure – May 1 – 2
Apr 28, 2014
Culvert work will be done on the Mt. Hopkins Road at the km 9.5 area this week. The road will be open at the following times only: 8:00-8:30am, noon-12:30pm, and 4:00pm-7:00am. It will be open over the weekend.
May – August MMT Observing Schedule
Mar 18, 2014
The observing schedule for May through August has been posted, along with program titles.
Discovery of First Hypervelocity Globular Cluster
Mar 03, 2014
SAO scientist Nelson Caldwell has used the MMT and Hectospec instrument to discover the first hypervelocity globular cluster, located near the central galaxy of the Virgo Cluster. Read more.
The fast-flying cluster of old stars was caught zooming away from the …
Astronomy Magazine Editor Visits MMTO
Feb 15, 2014
Astronomy Magazine editor, David Eicher, recently visited the MMTO and the Whipple Observatory. Read about his visit in his blog and be sure to look at his photo gallery at the end of his blog!
March 18 & 19 – Mt Hopkins Road Closures
Feb 10, 2014
On Tuesday and Wednesday, March 18 & 19, potholing work will be done on the Mt. Hopkins Road at one location near km 5.5 and two locations near km 9.5. The road will be closed at 8:30am, open between noon-12:30pm, …
Thursday, March 6 – Mt. Hopkins Rd. Closure
Feb 10, 2014
Mt. Hopkins Road will be closed for most of the day on Thursday, March 6, starting at 9:00am. It will be open from noon – 12:30pm, then closed again until 4:00pm. Contractors will be digging holes to locate power lines …
Mt. Hopkins Road – Currently open through Monday, March 17
Feb 09, 2014
Road repair work is continuing on the Mt. Hopkins Road intermittently in March around km 5.5 and km 12. When scheduled, work will be conducted on weekdays, with the road usually scheduled to be open before 8:30am, from noon-12:30pm, …
New Survey from SAO Scientists
Jan 28, 2014
Dr. Margaret Geller at Smithsonian has released a new redshift survey of a rich galaxy cluster, the first substantial spectroscopic survey of this cornerstone of extragalactic research. Read more.
The survey, done with the MMT and the Hectospec instrument, identifies 275 …