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   Home  :  Observatories  :  HLCO  :  MTT Department of Physics & Astronomy 
Georgia State University 


Multiple Telescope Telescope (MTT)


photo of MTT taken by Reed Riddle


The HLCO Multiple Telescope Telescope (or MTT), is a one-meter (40-inch) effective aperture telescope for astronomical spectroscopy - and the largest astronomical telescope in the southeast. Using nine 0.33m (13.1-inch) mirrors, each sending light to a spectrograph by a hair-thin fiber optic, this instrument was built for only 15% the cost of a traditionally-designed imaging telescope. Large telescopes typically do spectroscopy during 60% of their observing time: the MTT design demonstrates a remarkably low-cost approach to meeting this need through innovative design.

Project Astronomers:

William G. Bagnuolo , Principal Investigator
Reed L. Riddle , Co-Investigator, Engineer
Donald J. Barry , Co-Investigator, Engineer
Douglas R. Gies , Co-Investigator

The primary scientific mission of the MTT is high signal-to-noise stellar spectroscopy at high resolution of bright objects. The principal projects underway include:

Spectral tomography of binary hot-star systems
Individual stellar spectra are reconstructed from full-phase spectra taken of the binary star system using a locally-developed tomographic analysis algorithm. Stellar parameters are refined from features of the reconstructed individual spectra. Above, the components of Plaskett's star are shown after tomographic separation, comparedto the individual stars of similar type 9 Sge and Lambda Cep.

Be star variability and non-radial pulsations
Rapid line-profile variations are monitored as a signature of non-radial pulsation phenomena taking place in the atmosphere of these rapidly-rotating objects. Attempts are underway to improve understanding of the mechanisms which give rise to this behavior. Above, variations are detected moving from blue to red in the He I 6678 line of BK Camelopardalis.


Radial velocity studies of sharp-lined stars
As a complement to the studies of close visual binaries by the GSU Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA), a radial velocity program has been initiated to promote single-lined spectroscopic binaries to double-lined status, and to improve the quality of spectroscopic orbits by making velocity measurements with the highest signal-to-noise spectra. Above, three components are detected in the spectrum of 55 UMa, and a velocity curve for the primary as derived from a series of spectra is plotted.

All spectra above were recorded with the MTT during its inaugural six months of operation.

This page was last modified: 11 Oct 2002 at 03:43 EDT
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