The Former World
Champion
In 1908 the largest telescope
in the world was a 60 inch reflector on Mt. Wilson, high up
above Pasadena, California. It was the first of its kind
and it allowed the scientists who operated it to make many
discoveries about the galaxy we live in and the rest of the
universe, that we barely knew. Only 10 years after it was
built, a larger 100 inch telescope was built at Mt. Wilson.
By the 1930s, that was too small and work was begun on the
200 inch Hale telescope located on Mt. Palomar in San Diego
County. It first saw light in 1949. But lost in the race
for bigger, better telescopes the 60 inch telescope on Mt.
Wilson remained a fine instrument. It is also noteworthy
because, unlike its bigger siblings, it is open to the
public. It is the largest telescope you or I will ever look
through.
You can rent it for the night, with operator, for $1000.
Twenty five of your friends can join you and have a star
party. Or if you are a sustaining member of the Mt. Wilson
Observatory Association (MWOA) you'll be invited to join other
members and their guests at the observatory for an all
night star party. I was able to join one recently.
We were met at the gate by a member of the Association who
guided us to the dome that houses the 60 inch telescope.
After a safety lesson, for good reason as they are many
moving parts and live electrical circuits, we were taken to
the observing floor. The telescope, shown above, dominates
the dome. Built like a battleship it can be gracefully
moved by electric motors until it points very precisely at
objects that are very, very far away. Once positioned, a
rolling stair case is moved in to allow the observers
access to the eyepiece. In one long evening, here is a list
of the celestial objects we viewed:
Night of October 21-22, 2006
60 inch telescope
Mt. Wilson
M13
M57 Ring Nebula
Campbell’s Hydrogen Star
Neptune
NGC 7009 Saturn Nebula
M15
NGC 7662 Blue Snowball Nebula
NGC 7331
NGC 891
M40
NGC 7354
NGC 404
M76 Little Dumbbell Nebula
NGC 1333
NGC 1275
Comet 4P/Fay
G1 Global Cluster within M31
NGC 1501 Oyster Nebula
NGC 1514
NGC 1535 Cleopatra’s Eye
M42
IC 418 Spirograph Nebula
M78 in Orion
IC 351 in Perseus
IC 2003
NGC 2261 Hubble’s Variable Nebula
NGC 2392 Eskimo Nebula
Saturn
We decided at 5:04 AM to call it a night. As I stumbled
into bed at home an hour later, I thought back on the night
and all the places I'd been and the sights that I had seen
and decided it was one of the most amazing that I'd ever
had.