MULTIPLE MIRROR TELESCOPE

(MMT) one of the world's largest astronomical telescopes, located on top of 2,600-metre- (8,530-foot-) high Mount Hopkins, 60 km (37 miles) south of Tucson, Ariz. It is a prototype for large optical telescopes of the 15- to 25-metre (590- to 980-inch) class. The MMT combines the light collected by six 180-centimetre- (70-inch-) diameter telescopes into a single image. It thus has the light-gathering power of a single 450-centimetre (176-inch) telescope. Because of many technical innovations, the construction of the MMT cost substantially less than that of a conventional telescope of comparable size. Completed in 1979, the MMT is jointly owned and operated by the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Arizona.