Our New Telescope is Operational

Our new telescope in New Mexico — we call it MUT, or Multi-Use Telescope. It can see the explosion flashes caused by meteoroids hitting the moon, measure dust coming off comets, see meteors in the atmosphere, and track satellites/space junk.

 

MUT also takes nice pictures!

 

 

Test image with the MUT telescope we just set up in New Mexico. The globular star cluster M-13 in the constellation Hercules, seen at 30-second exposure.

 

 

MUT image of Comet Garradd, discovered back in 2009. Now at magnitude 7.5 — visible in good binoculars — Garradd is a first-time visitor to the inner solar system. It will be closest to the sun around Christmas, when it is just outside the orbit of Mars.

Credit: NASA/MSFC/Meteoroid Environment Office