Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189 Public Domain. Release under the CC BY Attribution license--http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/--Credit both “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society” as the source. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library; From the California Historical Society Collection at the University of Southern California Send requests to address or e-mail given USC Libraries Special Collections specol@usc.edu
Description
Photograph of Mount Wilson Observatory and surrounding mountains, ca.1930. The white observatory is surrounded by trees, with the exception of the path near the entrance, which appears to be a roadway. Mountains are visible in the distance. "Mount Wilson Observatory is perched above the Los Angeles basin, above the smog and in a paradoxically ideal location for an observatory. The very inversion layer that traps pollutants in the L.A. basin is also responsible for the best astronomical 'seeing' in the continental United States. This excellent 'seeing' was appreciated by late 19th century astronomers and in 1904 led George Ellery Hale to build the Mount Wilson Solar Observatory on the site. 1904-1905 also saw the installation of the Snow Telescope - a device for spectroscopic and spectroheliographic studies of the sun and bright stars. In 1907 a 60-inch reflector telescope was completed and remains operational to this day. Shortly after installation of the 60-inch, work began on a 100-inch reflector - the largest mirror telescope attempted at the time. Financing for the mirror was provided by John Hooker with completion funds donated by Andrew Carnegie. The 100-inch bears John Hooker's name. The grinding of the mirror and design and construction of the mount, clock drive and dome were daunting tasks. And transporting the parts up the Mount Wilson Toll Road by mule and mule-assisted truck was in itself a combination of ingenuity, brute force and determination. [A good account of the early days of Mount Wilson can be found in Woodbury, David (1939) The Glass Giant of Palomar Dodd, Mead & Co., New York, 368 pgs.] In 1917 the 100-inch Hooker Telescope was completed and the term 'Solar' was dropped from observatory's name. Many important discoveries were made with the Hooker. Among these, Edwin Hubble revised our understanding of the size of the Universe and found convincing evidence of an expanding universe at the time when Einstein's theories were first being put to the test." -- Gary Fisher.
Type
image
Format
2 photographs : glass photonegative, photoprint, b&w 21 x 26 cm. 1 photograph : photoprint, b&w glass plate negatives photographic prints photographs
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