L-3 Provides Coating for Multiple Mirror Telescope

L-3 Corp.’s Applied Optics Center recently completed the coating of a large optic for the 6.5-m Multiple Mirror Telescope.

The MMT is one of the world’s largest astronomical telescopes, located on the site of the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory atop the 8,530-ft-high Mount Hopkins south of Tucson, Ariz.

The large-diameter optic coated by L-3 will protect the Binospec spectrograph, to be placed in operation at the MMT Observatory in 2015. The spectrograph will be capable of obtaining simultaneous optical spectra of up to 300 faint galaxies or stars at wavelengths between 390 and 1000 nm.

The Applied Optics Center designs and manufactures complex, high-layer-count thin-film coatings and optical assemblies for a variety of defense and commercial applications.

For more information, visit www.l-3com.com.