Journey to Palomar
Watch your local PBS station in November for the documentary on the Hale Telescope atop Mount Palomar in California. This is the famous 200″, (16.7 feet) diameter telescope that I dreamed about visiting when I was a kid. This telescope, and the incredible engineering challenge to manufacture it, is the 4th of 4 great telescopes designed by George Hale. It dominated visible light and photo astronomy for 50 years. Surpassed in size during the 1980’s by the 10 meter (393 inches or 32.75 feet) Keck telescope in Hawaii, this is one of the most important science and engineering feats until the moon landing. Comparing the Hale Telescope to the moon landing is not an exaggeration. Far more science has been done by by the Hale Telescope than all the moon landings combined.
Quote from PBS “The story of American astronomer George Ellery Hale (1868–1938) and his efforts to build the world’s four largest telescopes — which set the stage for astronomy and space exploration throughout the 20th century, revealing the greatest discoveries since Galileo and Copernicus. Hale’s lifelong struggle to build these great instruments culminated with the million-pound telescope on Palomar Mountain.”
A current engineer who works at the Palomar Observatory asked how long the Hale Telescope could last and produce significant science, he said “forever.” This amazing instrument has captured my imagination since I first heard about it in 3rd grade, (remember the Weekly Reader). My grandfather even remembered being in the crowd gathered at the railroad tracks in Greencastle watching the “telescope train” pass by. He didn’t understand the significance of the telescope, but since it made worldwide headlines the telescope train was watched at every town all the way from Pennsylvania to California.
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