Here's the entrance to the compound. There's many antennas
there, as well as a massive array on an adjoining property. We also took a
picnic lunch (they have facilities there for it).
Don't stray too far off the path! There was even a sign that
warned of "Radiation" (oh, my gosh).
This is the largest grouping of antennas across the road.
They extend hundreds of feet into the air. It's really, really impressive.
There's so much energy given off by these monsters that Andrey's remote
car locks wouldn't work.
While on the property we found this "Triangulation
Station" (surveyor's mark) set in the pavement. Guess they keep
pretty close track of the property lines up there.
Wilson forged the trail to the top of the mountain that
bears his name. He was also the grandfather of General George Patton. The
telescope and observatory are largely the work of Hale.
Andrey shows off the trail head of the 12+ mile trail down
the mountain to the Pasadena parking lot. We plan on making the trek
(about a 6 hour journey according to Andrey) sometime soon.
My bunny in front of the museum they have on the property.
Inside the museum they have these back-lighted plaques
surrounding the walls. There's several other exhibit pieces that show the
construction of the tower and hunks 'o junk off of old timing mechanisms
that moved the large telescopes in their tracking.
Here's the sun observatory poking it's head about the tree
tops...
...this shot from the base gives you an idea of how huge the
structure really is. I'm guessing it's an elevator to the top inside the
central shaft. Amazingly, the girders aren't solid. They're hollow, and
inside them is a redundant framework that supports the optical elements of
the observatory. In this way they shield the optical elements from wind
vibration since it's entirely shielded by the outside girder which
supports the majority of the platform. Weird.
The 60 inch telescope wasn't open, but the 100 inch Hale
telescope has a visitor's gallery (see below).
Here's the small footbridge leading to the 100 inch Hale
telescope. Just to the right of the bridge (out of view) is a 500,000
gallon water tank for fighting any fires.
Here's what all the fuss was about. For more info please
visit the Mount Wilson website at: www.mtwilson.edu.
You can also take a peek at the Mount Wilson webcam.
