Mirror manufacture. Manufacture of the mirror destined for use in the Multiple Mirror Telescope (MMT) Conversion project. The technician is plac- ing a fluid on the mirror's surface & a polishing machine is at upper right. This 6.5 metre mirror is intended to replace six 1.8-metre mirrors in the MMT, as the 6 mirrors combined give the MMT an effective aperture of only 4.5 metres. The MMT's building and partially-modified mount will be re- used, allowing it to be converted at a fraction of the cost of an entirely new telescope. This con- version is possible because of advances in mirror fabrication by the University of Arizona Mirror Laboratory in Tucson, USA. Photographed in 1997.