Why is the Palomar telescope special?

It was the largest telescope in the world for 45 years. A 60-inch (1.5m) reflecting telescope is located in the Oscar Mayer Building, and operates fully robotically. The telescope became operational in 1970, and was built to increase sky access for Palomar astronomers.

When was the Palomar Observatory built?

1928
Palomar Observatory/Founded

Who is credited with building the Mt Palomar telescope?

George Ellery Hale
George Ellery Hale was the person most responsible for the building of Palomar Observatory. A graduate of MIT and a founder of Caltech, in 1928 he secured a grant of $6 million from the Rockefeller Foundation for the fabrication of a 200-inch reflecting telescope.

What discoveries did the Hale Telescope make?

Big vision, big telescopes The vision for the Palomar Observatory is credited to George Ellery Hale, a 19th- and 20th-century astronomer who is known not only for his scientific discoveries — he found out that magnetic fields and sunspots are linked, for example — but also for his business sense.

Who is the owner of Palomar Mountain Observatory?

Palomar Observatory, located on Palomar Mountain, is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and was started by astronomer George Ellery Hale. He was also the brains behind the Mount Wilson Observatory. Hale was a Caltech founder and was very interested in building ever-larger and more accurate telescopes.

Where is the Palomar Observatory in San Diego?

Palomar Observatory is located northeast of San Diego, California, at the summit of Palomar Mountain. The biggest telescope at Palomar is the 200-inch, 530-ton Hale Telescope. It was named for founder George Ellery Hale.

When was the first telescope made at Palomar?

First light on the 200-inch telescope came in 1949. Meanwhile, the 48-inch (1.2 m) Samuel Oschin Schmidt Telescope was completed in 1948, and almost immediately, work began on the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey — the catalog used as a basis for the Hubble Space Telescope.

Where is Mount Wilson telescope in Palomar CA?

It was here that the idea for moving to Palomar took shape, as Mount Wilson was located in what was now a heavily light-polluted area near Los Angeles. The telescope was put on Palomar Mountain, which is 100 miles (161 km) southeast of Pasadena.