Mt. Wilson Observatory Hideout IV: Farewell for Now

Update 10/2/15: I heard from Ken Evans, Mt. Wilson volunteer (thank you, Ken!). He's always got great info:
"Hi Petrea -  I was looking at your web page and saw your photo of the big bucket outside the Monastery kitchen at Mt. Wilson.  It was used to haul concrete up to the second floor of the Monastery during construction. I have seen photos on the Huntington Library digital images page that show the Monastery under construction. It shows a wood tower with pulleys and cable system to haul the bucket up. The power for the lift was a Model T Ford truck with ballast on the back to give traction.  The truck would drive forward and the bucket would go up. I think the concrete was then poured into wheel barrows and moved where needed."

Thanks, Ken!

Original post:

Last night's blood moon brought crowds to the Mt. Wilson Observatory. The parking lot is always open and it's a good spot for viewing the night skies. The Observatory itself closes to the public at 5pm but last night the staff left the gate open and people wandered, enjoying the grounds. Despite all the light from the city below it's still very dark up here, and fun to snoop. Everyone had a good time even though throughout most of the evening the moon demurely hid its heavenly body behind a tantalizing veil of clouds.

One does not get a good photo of a moon, even a giant blood moon, with an iPhone. You will find all the gorgeous shots you could possibly want elsewhere on the web. So for my last post from the mountain, I thought I'd show you things you won't find elsewhere. Above, that's a giant old bucket thing (technical term) behind the Monastery kitchen. Something from an old well? Chili cooker? The rim of the bucket came up to my waist.

Here's a view from a second floor window in the Monastery. I don't know what it is. You tell me. I like it in black and white. (Ken says these are "...old fashioned heat vents. Some times used on water heaters, or stove flues. I would have to look in the building to see if they are still in use. My guess is no.")

A better view of that drain we saw the other day.

Science moves on, always looking for the newest discovery. That's what science must do. Funding follows the biggest telescope, the latest thing. For the first half of the 20th century and beyond, Mt. Wilson Observatory was the cutting edge of astronomical research, but larger telescopes are now the norm. Important work is still done here (the Solar Telescopes, the CHARA Array, etc.), but the Observatory is in transition. What will it become? A museum of astronomical history? An Observatory? An educational facility? All three? What do you envision?

I'm not sure what's in Mt. Wilson's future, but I know what's in its past: major scientific discoveries that changed the world's understanding of itself and its place in the cosmos. Like Hubble's glass plate proving the expansion of the universe (a discovery he made here, using the 100-inch Hooker Telescope), it's impossible to place a monetary value on that.

I have been more than fortunate to experience this magical place in a private way. There's a lot here to do, see and think about. My endless thanks to those who made it possible.

Come visit, then let's talk some more.

Carnegie Observatories, II

Dr. Cindy Hunt, Caltech PhD and head of Social Media for the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, pushes open the door to the vault. My mouth gapes wider than the door. This is just the kind of thing I love: an archive—a photo archive of a different sort.

This archive is replete with glass plates—negatives of "astrophotographs" taken from telescopes pointing into all depths and directions of space. This one of the sun, from August 17, 1935, was taken from Mount Wilson's Solar Telescope. Click to enlarge it so you can see the flares of 80 years ago.

The glass plate negatives come in all sizes. Here, Cindy's holding a glass spectra of a sun spot, made in 1919 at Mount Wilson Observatory. Cindy says, "You can easily identify the Zeeman splitting in the calcium-H and K lines in the spectrum on the top row." I'm going to take her word for it. "Part of the early discoveries about the sun at the Carnegie Observatories was using these spectra to show that sun spots are far cooler than the rest of the sun, and have strong magnetic fields," she says.

In the background are boxes and boxes of the history of the universe, depicted on glass plates.

More glass plates. Those numbers on the boxes are dates: 1920. 1916. 1917.

"George Ellery Hale had a telescope in his back yard at his childhood home in Chicago, known as the Kenwood Observatory," says Dr. Hunt. "When Hale moved to Pasadena to build the first telescope on Mount Wilson in 1904, he brought these plates with him, known as the Kenwood Plates."

Thus, the years written on the boxes are 1894. 1895. 1892. 

On and on with the glass plates. The universe is pretty big! And astronomers at Mount Wilson Observatory have been photographing it for more than 100 years.

Carnegie's history is and will always be intertwined with that of Mount Wilson and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), but they're no longer officially affiliated. The Carnegie Observatories is an international research conglomerate. The astrophysics being done here is very much of the future. But these glass plates, depicting the astronomy of the past, are immensely valuable to science and history. That is to say, they're priceless. That, and the fact that they're sensitive to heat and light, is why they're kept in a vault. That's why the public rarely sees them.

That's why you should go to the Carnegie Observatories family-friendly Open House on Sunday, October 18th, 2-5pm, when some of these plates will be on display. Be sure to RSVP!

Inside the Solar Telescope

Through a dark door beneath a gleaming tower, we enter the small building that houses Mount Wilson Obervatory's 150-Foot Solar Telescope.

Fluorescent lights shine on interesting photos and diagrams that line the walls. This bust of George Ellery Hale looks like the one I photographed at Caltech in 2009, but I learned that it's not the same. This one was rejected by the Hale family. The accepted bust is at Caltech somewhere, though it's likely been moved since I took its picture.

At first you think, "Oh. Well, it's an old room. With old computers in it. And...wait, what are all these dials and knobs and...?"

Then someone turns off the lights.

You know you can't look directly at the sun, but there it is before you on the table, with today's spots.

Every day the sun's spots are mapped, and the information is shared for anyone to see. This research is used worldwide.

Then more magic—I mean, science. Before our eyes, on the table, sunset.

Shadows float across the circle of light, first of the Mt. Wilson radio towers, then of the western mountain range itself.

Then the gloaming fades into night.

A room full of enchanted enthusiasts lets out a cheer. It's easy, then, to understand why our ancient kin worshipped and feared the sun.

Solset on Mount Wilson

THIS POST UPDATED 9/8/15:

Ken Evans, a 15-year volunteer at Mt. Wilson Observatory, wrote to share information about the Solar Tower: 

"The 'little platform' is not the bucket elevator. The platform is a service stop for the bucket elevator. There is equipment inside the tower inner column that needs service and the elevator would stop there. The elevator is stored at the bottom of the tower when not in use. The group of cables on the far right in the photos is what is used by the elevator. The bucket only holds two people easily, but could hold three if one stands in the middle.

I also enjoyed the views inside the 100" telescope. I am part of a team of three that is installing a new control system for the telescope and at times I forget the beauty of the building. I have spent many hours inside the building, on the telescope and in it doing service. I am awed by the engineering of the place having been built in 1912 to 1917. The other day, [we] were studying a problem with the shutter opening system and I had to use binoculars to see the top area. I discovered that the idler pulleys for the cables that operate the upper part have pipes and grease fittings for the pulley. They come from the pulley hub and curve around so that they can be reached from the Newtonian platform as it rides up the dome."

Thanks for the corrections, Ken! They are much appreciated.

Public access to the Mount Wilson Observatory ends at 5pm, unless you're going to a special event. So when I had the chance to be on the Observatory grounds during evening hours, you can bet I grabbed it.

Approaching the 150-foot Solar Tower at sunset...

 ...magic.

Take a closer look. The little platform on the right is an elevator you can ride to the top IF you don't fear heights and IF you know the right people. I don't fear heights. I have to work on the people.

My next post takes place inside the building, with more magic. Or, uh, science.

Mount Wilson: Solar Telescope

The Solar Telescope at Mount Wilson is still used for studying sunspots. 

Great strides have been made in this science here.

The telescope is tall. And look what a beautiful day it was! I didn't alter this photo one bit.

The wooden frame. The screws. The old courier typeface. I wonder how long ago this sign was hung.

Craig Woods, our guide, has been up in the elevator. We were forbidden to go. I'm sure that was for the best.

This door is an entry beneath the Solar Telescope. I remembered it the moment I saw it.

Boz visited there on his Mount Wilson tour in 2011.

More Mount Wilson insider photos to come!