Where there is an observatory and a telescope, we expect that any eyes will see new worlds at once. — Henry David Thoreau
On a chilly Wednesday winter night at 10 o’clock in 1949, Edwin Hubble directed the great Hale telescope toward the ghostly image of NGC 2261, known now as the Hubble Variable Nebula. The nebula’s light touched the virgin mirrors, thus opening up the heavens to views never seen before.
The 200-inch telescope would reign as the largest telescope in the world from that night all the way to 1976. Even though we have larger land-based scopes, along with Webb and Hubble observing from space, the Hale still operates every clear night, continuing distinguished scientific research.
The Hale telescope located at the Palomar Observatory is nestled in the mountains northwest of San Diego, California, and is owned and operated by Caltech.
The great observatory is open to the public and is a must-see for anyone interested in astronomy. I toured the Hale and surrounding grounds for a few hours and enjoyed every minute. Video from this trip is posted below and is available on YouTube.
Visit the Palomar website to learn more about the scopes at the observatory and to plan a visit.
Sources:
- Photo of Hubble Variable Nebula provided by NASA and reprocessed by Judy Schmidt from Fresh Meadows, NY, USA. Citation here.
- Photo of Hale telescope with blue sky by Wayne McGraw. Video by Wayne McGraw.
The Garden Astronomer 
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