Jun 192018
 
June 10-15, 2018-SPIE Conference for Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018

On Sunday June 10th the SPIE Conference for Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation began in Austin, Texas, and ten employees of the MRO went to participate in presentations of a plethora of fascinating and noteworthy material. MRO Principle Investigator Michelle Creech-Eakman, Ph.D. was an important part of the event as she was one of the conference chairs and she was also a session chair for welcome and announcements, sessions 3, 6, and 15, and the wrap-ups and community discussions. Many employees presented their works either through formal presentation or through their posters where it was easier for them to interact with […]

May 292018
 
June 12, 2018 - Topped!

The Unit Telescope Enclosure (UTE) is coming along, as we are about to top everything with the Dome (part pictured above)! Today pieces of the dome were unpacked and have been moved into position for assembly. We are expecting to have the dome built outside where it will then be placed onto the UTE walls inside of the maintenance facility. Following the dome attachment, the shutter will be added to the UTE. Thus begins the final stages of the building process where electronic components get added, various tubes and wires get connected, and final tests are done. Once tests on […]

May 152018
 
May 23, 2018 - Touchdown!!!

Arival of New Materials Touchdown of Materials Unpacking Today officially marks the start of the MROI’s major growth period to a completed and ready Interferometer. Starting today with the touchdown of the first parts of the Unit Telescope Enclosure (UTE) the MROI should be hustling and bustling till the dome is built, telescope is integrated, and everything is connected. We here at the MROI are excited to have things start to pick up and for the big spike in progress to come. We would like to thank you as supporters and observers for your support and encouragement through the years. […]

Dec 012016
 
November 25, 2016 - Most Powerful Telescope Array in the World Sees First Images

Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer to Experience First Light Next Tuesday The first of ten telescopes that will make up the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer (MROI) will experience first light on the evening of Tuesday, November 29th. The MROI First Light event will be streamed live on the Magdalena Ridge Observatory website, www.mro.nmt.edu, starting at 7:30 Mountain Time on Tuesday, November 29th. The MROI is an optical interferometer with an array of ten 1.4-meter diameter telescopes spread out across the mountaintop in a Y configuration, and the light from all ten telescopes can be combined to observe objects in the sky […]

Jun 102016
 
May 30, 2016 - A Major Milestone for the MROI

On May 19, 2016, a major milestone was reached at the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer (MROI) when the first of ten telescopes was installed at the Observatory, perched at 10,460 feet on the Magdalena Mountains west of Socorro, New Mexico. This telescope will be the centerpiece of an optical ten-telescope array that is designed to view the universe in both optical and infrared wavelengths. The telescope was built by AMOS, an optical systems manufacturer located in Liège, Belgium, and shipped from there to the New Mexico Tech campus where it had been stored, waiting for the completion of the telescope […]