Performance and control of the MMT thermal system

George G. Williams; J. Duane Gibson; Shawn Callahan; Dan Blanco; J. T. Williams; Peter Spencer

doi:10.1117/12.552090

28 September 2004 Performance and control of the MMT thermal system

George G. Williams, J. Duane Gibson, Shawn Callahan, Dan Blanco, J. T. Williams, Peter Spencer

Proceedings Volume 5489, Ground-based Telescopes; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.552090
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2004, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Abstract

We present results from a study of the performance of the MMT thermal system. The 6.5-m MMT primary mirror consists of a borosilicate honeycomb structure that is thermally controlled with a forced-air ventilation system. We will give an overview of both the measurement and control systems. Our goal is to define an algorithm for control of the ventilation system such that the primary mirror temperature closely tracks ambient while minimizing thermal gradients. Future work will include a study of correlations between the thermal state of the primary mirror and both seeing and wavefront errors. The thermal system is currently controlled by the telescope operators, but the results from this work will assist in fully automating the system.

Citation Download Citation

George G. Williams, J. Duane Gibson, Shawn Callahan, Dan Blanco, J. T. Williams, and Peter Spencer "Performance and control of the MMT thermal system", Proc. SPIE 5489, Ground-based Telescopes, (28 September 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.552090

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