Welcome to our movie gallery! Over the years we have put together many movies showcasing activities taking place at the MMT as well as informational videos as part of our public outreach effort. Below you will find videos of all sorts; technical and fun, long and short.
Introductory Materials
A short introduction to the MMT observatory.
Drone footage of the MMT Observatory.
View of sunset throughout the year as seen from MT Hopkins, near the MMT. 319 second
Introduction put together for the second MMT science symposium
Public Outreach
The MMT Observatory participated in the “100 hours of Astronomy”, part of the International Year of Astronomy in 2009. 80 observatories around the world participated in this 24-hour, live online webcast. Here is a movie of the MMT’s participation, the action starts around 2.15.
A short movie telling the story of the LCROSS observations.
Some of the tasks we undertake
A sped up day in the life of the MMT day crew as they reconfigure the telescope.
The 6.5-meter MMT primary mirror was stripped of its aluminum coating on July 23, 2010, in preparation for re-aluminization.
This movie shows details of coating the 6.5-meter MMT primary mirror with a new reflective, aluminum surface, looking into the vacuum chamber.
A short movie of the initial construction of the new Instrument Repair Facility (IRF), located adjacent to the MMT telescope at the summit of Mt Hopkins
MMT Mirror Wash August 24, 2011
Detailed operations of one instrument: Hecto
Hecto positioner robots in motion, as seen from below with unit separated. 26 seconds.
Hecto positioner gripper jaws in motion, showing action used to pick up and move fiber buttons on the focal plane. 16 seconds.
Hecto positioner robots placing fibers on the focal plane in a sky configuration – viewed from the side at the start of configuration sequence. 41 seconds.
Hecto positioner robots placing fibers on the focal plane in a sky configuration – viewed from the side later in a configuration sequence. 42 seconds.
Hecto positioner robots parking fibers in their storage locations from a ring (calibration) configuration – viewed from the side. 37 seconds.
Just for Fun
A short video of one of the resident bears on Mt Hopkins near the MMT Observatory.
