Mount Wilson
Observatory Association
The Mount Wilson Observatory Association (MWOA) is a volunteer organization supporting the Mount Wilson Observatory. Membership is open to all interested persons. The Observatory itself is operated by the Mount Wilson Institute (MWI). Please contact the Institute for official business.
Mount Wilson Observatory, a center of astronomical research in the San Gabriel Mountains above Altadena, is not associated with Griffith Observatory and Planetarium in the Hollywood Hills.
A recent aerial view of the Mt. Wilson Observatory complex, looking north-east. In the lower-left are the 60-foot and 150-foot solar tower telescopes. Directly below the 60-foot tower is the horizontal Snow solar telescope. The dome for the 60-inch telescope is to the right of center, and the dome for the 100-inch Hooker telescope is near the top-center. Below the 60-inch dome is the small white dome housing the 16-inch Meade telescope. Directly north of the 100-inch dome is the long beam-combining building for the CHARA interferometer. Five of the six small silvery CHARA domes, each housing a 40-inch telescope, can also be seen. To the right in the picture is the Berkeley infrared interferometer. This photograph is by Norm Vargas, a 60-inch telescope operator.
Mt. Wilson Now! A live image from the Towercam atop the UCLA
150-foot Solar Tower telescope on Mt. Wilson. The Towercam operates 24 hours a day. Sometimes it is pointed out toward the city at night. Click on the Towercam image to go to the Towercam Website for a bigger image and for more information. See especially their daily Sunspot Drawing. Just below their Towercam image is a report of the weather conditions on the Mountain. Also see JPL's Mt. Wilson Weather Station for current conditions. A second nearly-live Mt. Wilson camera shows an eastward view toward Monrovia Peak.
MWOA News and Calendar of Events
- Mount Wilson Observatory survived the Station Fire fully intact and has now resumed scientific operations.
- Cosmic Café Is Open: The "Cosmic Café at Mount Wilson Observatory" is now open. Sandwiches, hot and cold drinks, etc. are available. Hours are 10:00am to 4:00pm on weekends. It is located in the Pavilion overlooking the big parking lot. Picnic tables and a great view of the City are nearby. Free weekend guided tours of the Observatory also start there at 1:00pm. Bring family and friends, have lunch, and see the sights.
For more on the Cosmic Café, see the Mount Wilson Institute (MWI) website.
- Call for Volunteers: MWOA needs volunteers to help on Mount Wilson on weekends. Membership in the Mount Wilson Observatory Association (MWOA) is desirable. For more detailed information contact Don Nicholson
by email, or telephone him at (310) 476-4413.
- MWOA Free Public Lecture: Saturday, August 28, 2010, in the Community Room of the Altadena Public Library. Note: from now on we will be meeting on the 4th SATURDAY, not Sunday (budget cuts have forced the Library to be closed on Sundays). The speaker and topic are TBD. Refreshments are at 2:00pm, the program begins at 2:30pm. See the Lectures page for more details. See the Directions page for how to get to the Altadena Public Library.
- Mt. Wilson Observatory Is Open to Visitors: Mt. Wilson Observatory and Skyline Park are now both open to the public. The Observatory grounds, the Astronomical Museum, and the Visitor's Gallery of the 100-inch Telescope are all open. The picnic grounds in Skyline Park are also open. Visitors are welcome. The hours are 10:00am to 4:00pm seven days a week.
Free guided tours by an MWOA docent are held on Saturdays and Sundays. Meet at the Pavilion above the main parking lot at 1:00pm. No reservations are necessary; just show up. At other times, be sure to pick up a free self-guided tour brochure at the Museum, or download the on-line brochure in PDF format.
The Observatory and Skyline Park are open to visitors from April through November when the weather is usually favorable. Both are closed during the Winter rain and snow season from December through March (except for special pre-arranged tours).
- Roads and Parking: All roads leading to Mount Wilson were either blocked by mud/debris slides or severely damaged by floods during last winter's storms. Major repairs are now under way.
The main route to Mount Wilson, Angeles Crest Highway from La Canada-Flintridge, is anticipated to remain closed until sometime this Fall (perhaps November), according to the latest estimate. For information from Caltrans on the status of Angeles Crest Highway (State Highway 2) go to Angeles Crest Closures.
An Alternate Route, on LA county roads, is now open to the public and can be used to get to the Observatory. It is described by the county as "Construction Zone. Expect Delays", so caution is advised. Heavy truck traffic and short delays for construction equipment are common in some areas, although most of the route is very good. However, since the hillsides near the road are completely bare, the county has been closing this route whenever rain threatens. This can happen with short notice, so before leaving for Mount Wilson, we strongly recommend you check the current status of LA county roads. To do this, go to the LA County Dept. of Public Works at County Road Closures.
The alternate route is 36 miles long and starts in Sunland. Large, clear signs mark turning points. A map can be found at Map. Turn-by-turn directions can be found at Directions.
Public parking at the Observatory is restricted to the main parking lot at Skyline Park. Each vehicle is required to display a Golden Age Passport or a Forest Adventure Pass (available for $5 per day at any Forest Service Ranger Station or many sporting goods stores, such as Sports Chalet).
- Director's Blog: For Observatory information from Director Hal McAlister, go to Director's Blog. He now includes information related to both the big fire in August and September, and the floods and snow from the present Winter storms.
For photos of Mount Wilson and along Angeles Crest Highway taken during and just after the big fire by Observatory Superintendent Dave Jurasevich, go to:
Sept 5 Photos..... Sept 11 Photos..... Sept 16 Photos
For photos taken on Sept 6 along Angeles Crest Highway by Susan McAlister, go to:
Sept 6 Crest Photos
- MWOA Yahoo! Group: The MWOA Yahoo! Group is now up and online. Membership in MWOA is required to join the MWOA Yahoo! Group.
Ever wonder what cabin Einstein stayed in when he visited Mount Wilson Observatory? How about the current status of the Hooker 100-inch telescope? Or perhaps you have other questions or comments you would like to share/discuss with your fellow MWOA members. The Mount Wilson Observatory Association has set up a discussion forum through Yahoo!. This discussion forum (group) is for general discussions of interest to the members of MWOA, specifically the mission of MWOA. If you would like to join the MWOA Yahoo! Group, send an email to subscribe with your request. You will get a return email from Yahoo! Groups confirming your request to join the group. Then follow the easy instructions. Once your membership in MWOA has been verified, you will be added to the group. Should you have any problems, contact Michael Rudy.
- Five MWOA 60-inch Nights: In 2010, MWOA has scheduled five observing nights on the Mount Wilson 60-inch telescope for our Sustaining Members. See the 60-inch page for the dates and when to register.
- Monthly MWOA Board Meetings: The MWOA Board of Trustees usually meets on the first Tuesday evening of each month. All MWOA members are invited to attend if they wish. If you'd like to become more active in MWOA, this is a good way to start. You need not be a member of the Board to participate. Contact our President Tim Thompson, for details.
More From MWOA
Links of Special Interest
- CHARA Overview. The results from the CHARA (Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy) interferometer array continue to be amazing. They reveal things never seen before in astronomy. Go see the overview (it may take a while to download). The CHARA interferometer on Mount Wilson was dedicated in 2000, became fully operational in 2004, and began routine, scheduled observations in 2005.
- Astronomy Picture of the Day, from
NASA. This is one of the best places on the Internet to get great astronomy and space pictures, often with the latest news from out of this world. For a particularly good archived example, go to M3: Inconstant Star Cluster and watch the RR Lyrae stars wink on and off.
- Mars Exploration Rovers, from JPL. This website gives the latest news, photos, and press releases about JPL's long-lived pair of Mars rovers. See the Everest Panorama for a view as if you were standing on Mars.
- Your Webmaster designed all the camera lenses for the Mars rovers. To find out more about these lenses, go to his SPIE paper from 2001 in pdf format. Or from his new Camera Lenses book, download the complete Chapter 31 in pdf format, which also describes the Mars rover lenses.
- For more on the Mars rovers, the Principal Investigator, Steve Squyres, has written an excellent book, Roving Mars. In addition to describing the mission, his personal insights remind the reader that science is done by real people with real feelings, hopes, and fears. An IMAX film version has also been produced and is highly recommended.
- For over 150 of the best photographs from the Mars rovers, see another recent book, Postcards from Mars, by Co-Investigator Jim Bell. Absolutely amazing!
- Cassini-Huygens, from JPL. See the latest results from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn. For one of their most spectacular images, go to Solar Eclipse, Saturn Style (click on the image for a wider view, and again for a bigger image). Or how about the View from Above?
- JPL News. Get more news about space from JPL.
- Mars Pictures. Pictures of Mars are posted from the huge number recently taken by spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet (although technically the color is yellowish-brown).
- 100-inch Mirror. Check out the photos of the 100-inch mirror without its aluminum coating. You can see the infamous bubbles in the glass that gave Hale and Ritchey such misgivings. Fortunately, the bubbles did no harm. These photos are part of the new Mt. Wilson Institute website.
- If you like the Towercam image from Mt. Wilson, see also the cameras on
Mt. Hamilton at Lick Observatory, and on
Kitt Peak at the National Observatory.
- For current weather conditions on the Mountain, see JPL's Mt. Wilson Weather Station, located near the Monastery. For weather forecasts, see Mt. Wilson Forecast #1 and Mt. Wilson Forecast #2, from the National Weather Service. See Mountain Forecast, for a 7-day weather forecast for the Los Angeles County mountains.
- Satellite View of Southern California, from the National Weather Service. Shows the current view from space in visible light with 1-kilometer resolution. For a longer download time, see the time-lapse
animated version.
- Jet Stream Analysis. Shows a map of the present jet stream over the eastern Pacific and western U.S.
- Doppler Radar Map, from the National Weather Service. Gives the latest Doppler radar map of Southern California, indicating precipation (and sometimes flocks of birds and swarms of insects).
- Mt. Wilson Observatory Clear Sky Chart. Gives predictions of the sky conditions over Mt. Wilson.
Satellite Weather Photo for Mt. Wilson
Visible (daytime only)
For other satellite weather photos, go to
Infrared (24 hour)
Western U.S. visible animation
Pacific water vapor animation
All images
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Mt. Wilson Observatory Association
P.O. Box 70076
Pasadena, CA 91117-7076 |
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