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Attend the Event
The venerable 60-inch Telescope at Mt. Wilson is an instrument that has a very rich historical past. Completed in 1908, with it's mirror cast by the Saint-Gobain glassworks in France in 1894, the telescope is currently used to study the chromospheric variability of lower main-sequence and cool evolved stars. The 60-inch built by George Ellory Hale with the mirror given as a gift from his father, was the largest telescope in the world.
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A group photo of OPTAS astronomers with Donald Nicholson, as they prepare for night on George E. Hale's 60-inch reflector.
Photo courtesy Greg Pyros
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Many of you know of the instrument's legacy, however, actually putting your eye to the glass of the 60-inch is to connect with the source. Perhaps the most productive astronomical facility ever built, the Mount Wilson Observatory complex churned out discovery after discovery. The giant telescopes of Mt. Wilson allowed astronomers to discover what galaxies were, and that the universe was expanding.
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Hopefully some of you will become active in supporting the Mt. Wilson Observatory Association and the Mt. Wilson Institute. These non-profit organizations work hand-in-hand to maintain the facilities and science that is conducted there. Private funding is what keeps the 60-inch and 100-inch telescopes in use.
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Don Nicholson of the Mt. Wilson Observatory Association has agreed to give us a first-hand account of the history of the astronomers and astronomy conducted there. Don started observing at Mt. Wilson in the mid 1920's, and is the perfect host for the event.
If we are clouded out or if the observatory is closed for any reason we will be given an alternate night, so your night with the 60-inch is assured! Additionally, Meade's 16" Observatory at Mt. Wilson will be opened for your viewing pleasure.
Join our expedition and join the ranks of those who have peered into the cosmos with Hale's 60-inch.
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Photographs of the 60-inch at Mt. Wilson courtesy of Mt. Wilson Observatory Association and the Mt. Wilson Institute.
© 2009 AstronomyOutreach network
The AstronomyOutreach network is dedicated to the memory of Mark J. Coco.
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