ART+SCIENCE 2019

   History of Mt. Wilson Discoveries               Blog Entry #3           Makayla Gallimore        Mt. Wilson was founded in 1904 by George Ellery Hale. Hale brought the Snow Solar Telescope from Yerkes Observatory to Mt. Wilson. He was studying the sun at the time and he wanted a sunnier place to study it. The deep forests of Los Angeles was the perfect fit for Hale and his fellow scientists and engineers.   Mt. Wilson was the place of new astrological advances at its time. This was the start of many new discoveries in our Solar System and beyond. Harley Shapley measured the size of the Milky Way Galaxy and he also figured out the position of it compared to earth. To my discovery when researching the history of Mt. Wilson, Edwin Hubble proved that the mysterious spiral nebulae were galaxies far away. The possibilities of seeing this incredible astrology wa...

While many people may not know the name Mount Wilson, they most likely know about at least one of the many historical discoveries that have been made there. Mount Wilson Observatory was founded in 1904 by George Hale, and originally was mainly used to study the sun with the 60-inch Snow Solar Telescope. As the largest telescope at the time, it was a trial to get it on top of the mountain in Pasadena. According to Mount Wilson Observatory’s website, it took 60 trips to carry all the pieces for the telescope to the top, and everything was carried on horses’ or mules’ backs. It took a few years for building to be completed and to work out some issues, so the 60-inch telescope was completed in 1908.  The Snow Telescope held the record for the largest telescope until 1917 when the 100-inch telescope was built for Mount Wilson Observatory. Hale was adamant about having the tool built, which came with a $500,000 price tag for the telescope itself and for the new building ...

Because this post is going up late, and we have by now all heard lots of the history of Mt Wilson Observatory, I am deciding to focus this post on the events that the observatory puts on now, and how it relates to the history and science of Mt. Wilson. Mt. Wilson hosts monthly lectures by guests in the field of astronomy inside the dome which hosts the 100-inch telescope. The very first lecture hosted was in honor of the centennial of the 100-inch, the speaker being George Ellery Hale (founder of the observatory)'s grandson, Sam Hale, discussing the notion of the same "second Copernican revolution" mentioned by one of our guides at the observatory. Guest speakers now include NASA research scientists, observatory directors, CalTech professors and more, covering every astronomy and astrophysics topic imaginable. These talks are 90 minutes long and include a look through one of the two big telescopes. Entry to these lectures is $25, which goes towards Observatory maintenan...

Mount Wilson Blog  Access to the sky seems like something we all have, seeing as it is above our heads at all times. Attempting to understand what exists in space is still relatively new information. Fascination with what exists beyond our earth is not new, philosophers and scientists have been exploring the sky for hundreds of years. Mount Wilson Observatory is the place that gave astronomers the tools and location to study what exists beyond our planet. Mt Wilson is home to a 60in telescope, that was completed in 1908. The 60inch telescope has been pivotal in astrological discoveries.  Access to the sky is something that becomes incredibly vast and unending the more you know about it. For many years the only people that could know about were astronomers, astrophysicists, people with education, etc. Now curiosity can give anyone access to the sky. Before the completion of the 60-inch telescope, there were many things about the sky that we didn’t know for sure. For instanc...

For our class, we are to go to Mt. Wilson and take astrophotography. I didn’t know much about this place, nor did I understand the significance that Mt. Wilson had on astronomy and science. All because of one person love for stars, we learned that their was an undiscovered new frontier to explore, space. So what exactly is Mt. Wilson? Mount Wilson is located within the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County, California. Established in 1904 by George Ellery Hale, Mount Wilson Observatory today continues to utilize a wide array of solar telescopes, large reflectors, and experimental optical interferometers. In 1918, the largest telescope in the world for 30 years was the Hooker Reflector with a mirror 100 inches in diameter. Its previous successor, who was the largest of its type at the time was the 60-inch reflector, completed in 1908. That made me curious, why exactly did Hale decide to build the observatory? Hale brought the Sno...

Mt. Wilson was founded in 1904 by George Ellery Hale, who had been studying the sun with a telescope in Wisconsin. A member of the Yerkes Observatory, Hale brought the Snow Solar telescope over to the San Gabriel mountains where he could continue his observations in a more temperate environment. Soon after the move, Mt. Wilson observatory received funding from the Carnegie Institute of Washington-- rendering it an independent facility. Prior to the installment of the observatory on Mt. Wilson, most telescopes were positioned at sea-level, leaving them vulnerable to cloudy nights and limited visibility. Thus, Hale proposed placing the new research center atop a 5,700ft mountain.  In 1908, Hale and his father introduced the 60 in telescope, a feat that required incredible funding and planning to install at the top of the mountain. The 60 in telescope was utilized to categorize stars by their light spectrum, and even to prove that the sun, while the center of our solar system, i...

Mt. Wilson Observatory Built in 1904, Mt. Wilson Observatory  is home to many historic telescopes, as well as countless astronomical discoveries. The first telescope completed at the observatory was the snow telescope completed in 1905. The 60–inch telescope in 1908 and the 100-inch telescope, or the Hooker Telescope followed this telescope, in 1917. Due to its unique location in the San Gabriel Mountains, Mt. Wilson has been a prime location for many to come and study astronomy. The history of the telescopes and those who made discoveries on them is a fascinating journey into the past, and includes some of the fundamentals of astronomy that we understand today. Of the many telescopes at the observatory, the 60-inch and the 100-inch telescopes are some of the most fascinating. The 60-inch was constructed in 1908 and was the largest in the world at the time. It was built with a glass mirror instead of metal and a precision mount which made it by far the most advanced a...

History of Mount Wilson Nicole Daskas Mount Wilson observatory was founded in 1904 by George Ellery Hale. In order to further his studies of the Sun, Hale moved the Snow Solar telescope from Southern Wisconsin to Mount Wilson. The observatory was first focused on studying the sun, and was called the Mount Wilson Solar Observatory up until 1919, when the largest telescope was brought in to photograph stars. The 100-inch changed not only the name of the observatory, but also the way the universe was understood. Hubble used this telescope to discover that the universe is expanding and would lay the foundation for the Big Bang model. It was the first ever telescope with the ability to see past the Milky Way. Hale founded the field of astrophysics, and “sought to understand the physical processes that took place in the Sun and other more distant stars” (Wilson Observatory).  Mount Wilson helped lay the foundation of astrophysics. As technology continued to develop, the capacity ...

Sitting on the top of the San Gabriel Mountains, the Mount Wilson Observatory is a 100 year old telescope with a historical past that have made pivotal significance in the astronomical field of science.  Founded in 1904 by the astrophysicists, George Hale, a plethora of scientific theories have been developed in such a location but the most profound accomplishments include the finding of the speed of light as well as the revolutionizing idea that our universe is expanding along with the existence of multiple galaxies.  In the year of 1923, Edwin Hubble utilized a telescope mirror in order to debunk the conception that spiral nebulas were simply clusters of mass light, instead it was what we now know as the Andromeda Galaxy that extends upon the reach of the milky way. In addition, he founded that our universe is expanding through the process of measuring the luminosity of light as it decreases at an extraordinarily fast rate.  Another startling discovery was founded b...

       Mount Wilson Observatory embeds a lot of historical discoveries are located on a 5,000-foot high mountain. Mount Wilson Observatory is located in the Los Angeles National Forest which is home to several telescopes. The most famous and notable discovery that put Mount Wilson Observatory into existence was in 1904 when George Ellery Hale began working on the mountaintop. Hale was a pioneer who was involved in the field of astrophysics. He also studied the chemical and physical process of the stars. With minimal researchers and specialists going with him, Hale began to turn into the world's first cosmic research office.  Shortly after the biggest telescope was established, the 100-inch went into development which would capture the stars and nebulae. Hubble used the 100-inch to make his discovery that the universe was still extending. This telescope leads to the comprehension of our notion of the Big Bang model/theory. Establishing the new field of astron...

Mount Wilson Observatory was founded in 1904 by George Ellery Hale. Together with various scientists and engineers, he started the world’s most prominent astronomical research facility. In 1919 it had the largest telescope in the world being 100-inch. The most well known discovery from the observatory is from Edwin Hubble. Hubble used the photographic plates from the 100-inch to see that the Andromeda Galaxy is its own galaxy and not a spiral nebula. He made this discovery by seeing a Cepheid variable star within the galaxy. This made him realize that because the Andromeda is so far away it had to be its own galaxy. This was the beginning of Hubble’s Law, which is considered the first observational basis of expansion of the universe. It is still considered one of the pieces of evidence in support of the Big Bang model.   Mount Wilson also played a role in the experiment to accurately measure the speed of light. Albert Michelson, who won a Nobel prize for working on this ex...

Sammy Keane History of Mount Wilson “Mount Wilson Observatory was founded in 1904 by George Ellery Hale, a pioneer in the field of astrophysics who studied chemical and physical processes in stars” (Space.com). The Mount Wilson Observatory is on top of Mount Wilson in the San Gabriel Mountains, overlooking Los Angeles. This incredible Observatory was where “Edwin Hubble used a telescope mirror over eight feet wide to made two discoveries that fundamentally changed our definition of the universe. First, he realized that some faint, fuzzy objects that perplexed astronomers for decades were in fact galaxies outside our own Milky Way. Then Hubble recognized that many of these galaxies were speeding away from us, indicating that the universe is expanding” (Atlas Obscura). This discovery profoundly changed how not only astronomers but everyone began to look at our world and universe.  Mount Wilson’s rich history also includes that of Albert Michelson. At mount Wilso...

I am of firm belief that without science, there is no beauty. Though beauty can be subjective, it is still a unique ability for humans to perceive beauty in different forms. In thinking about science relating to beauty, I began to wonder about the science of beauty; why do humans perceive beauty, what determines whether something is beautiful or not, and can there be objective beauty?  In an article from website brainpickings.org , author Nancy Etcoff discusses the notion of manufactured beauty, that is, essentially the presentation of repeated characteristics in reality-adjacent elements. Etcoff’s book is quoted saying “Walt Disney created our fondness for creatures with big eyes and little limbs, or Coca-Cola or McDonald’s created our cravings for sweet or fatty foods. Advertisers and businessmen help to define what adornments we wear and find beautiful, but … this belongs to our sense of fashion, which is not the same thing as our sense of beauty.” Humans come to believe t...