Driving Map & Directions |
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Mount Wilson Observatory is operated by the Mount Wilson Institute under an agreement with the Carnegie Institution of Washington. The Observatory occupies lands belonging to the USDA Forest Service set aside under a long-term leasehold agreement between CIW and the USDA Forest Service. The Observatory subscribes to the USDA non-discrimination policy as expressed here.
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| Be a Friend of Mount Wilson - You can enjoy a special relationship with MWO through a membership in our Friends of Mount Wilson Observatory organization. Explore the benefits of FOMWO membership and pick the level which most suits you. All members receive our quarterly publication Reflections, and we are making the March 2013 issue available here as a preview of what you can look forward to four times a year. This issue contains an extraordinary biographical study of MWO founder George Ellery Hale by Reflections co-editor Marilyn Morgan. |
| In the first half of the 20th Century, eminent astronomers such as Harlow Shapley and Edwin Hubble used the incomparable facilities of Mount Wilson Observatory to forever alter humankind's view of our place in a vast and expanding Universe. Today, Mount Wilson's original solar and night-time telescopes, the world's largest for two generations of astronomers, have been joined by new facilities achieving unprecedented high-resolution views of the stars. |
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| Visit Mount Wilson - The Observatory is open to the public daily from 10 am to 5 pm, March 30 through December 1. On weekends, have lunch at our Cosmic Cafe, open 10 am to 4 pm Saturdays and Sundays, and then take a 1 pm Guided Tour that includes entry onto the observing floor of the 100-inch Telescope. At other times, including the winter months, you can arrange for a Special Tour. |
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Look through the 60-inch telescope - Mount Wilson's historic 60-inch telescope, which revealed before World War I that the sun is not located at the center of the Milky Way, still has nights available during the 2013 season. The views of planets, star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies through the 60 inch, among the largest telescopes in the world accessible to the public, are unforgettable.
The image at left is of the region of the lunar crater Bullialdus taken by Art Cole with his iPhone at the 60-inch in April 2013. Click here a higher resolution view and more information. |
Explore Mount Wilson On-Line -
- Take an incredible spherical panoramic tour.
- Watch a 13-minute video narrated by Hugh Downs.
- View a picture and word virtual tour.
- Study current MWO science.
- Learn about the Observatory's history of MWO.
- Watch a 2012 oral history walking tour video of MWO's Don Nicholson.
- Read the Director's diary of MWO's close brush with the Station Fire in 2009.
- Watch Huell Howser's California's Gold episode on Mount Wilson.
- Check out the website of the CHARA Array.
- Look at the latest image of the Observatory from Towercam.
- See today's sunspot drawing from the 150-ft solar tower.
| 2013 CUREA Summer Program - The Consortium for Undergraduate Research and Education in Astronomy will hold its annual Summer Program at Mount Wilson Observatory during July 28 through August 10. Students use the Snow Solar Telescope, the 60-inch optical telescope and the 16-inch Meade telescope to do spectroscopy and imaging of astronomical objects in a hands-on research environment. More information is available here. |
 Photo courtesy Eric Simison, Sea West Enterprises |