Palomar Observatory is an astronomical research observatory in the Palomar Mountains of San Diego County, California, United States. It is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Palomar Observatory near San Diego, California, is a center of astronomical research owned and operated by Caltech. The Observatory is home to three active research telescopes: the 200-inch (5.1-meter) Hale Telescope, the 48-inch (1.2-meter) Samuel Oschin Telescope, and the 60-inch (1.5-meter) telescope.

Dec 16, 2024 · Most come to see the famous 200-inch (5.1-meter) Hale Telescope —for decades the largest effective telescope in operation. Whether you are an astronomy, history, or engineering enthusiast, or simply curious about the Observatory, you will enjoy visiting our museum and taking one of our guided tours of the facility.

Mar 26, 2019 · The 18-inch Schmidt telescope was the first instrument at Palomar Observatory and it was Palomar's only operational telescope between 1936 and 1949. Beginning in the late 1940s, this instrument was used in conjunction with the 48-inch Schmidt (later to become the Samuel Oschin Telescope) to provide targets for the 200-inch Hale Telescope. ...

Jun 20, 2014 · It holds a professional set of telescopes used by the California Institute of Technology, but the observatory is also open to the public almost every day of the year. In recent years, Palomar is...

May 17, 2024 · Palomar Observatory’s Hale Telescope still delivers discoveries 75 years after its first light. In January 1949, renowned astronomer Edwin Hubble rode an elevator at Palomar Observatory up 78 feet to the prime focus cage of the giant, 200-inch Hale Telescope, known during its development as the “Big Eye.”

Mar 26, 2019 · Palomar Observatory is home to three active research telescopes that are involved in a wide variety of astronomical research programs. The studies conducted here range from the hunt for near-Earth asteroids to probing distant galaxies and quasars.

Before Palomar Observatory was built, the world's largest telescope was the 100-inch Hooker Telescope perched above Pasadena at the Mount Wilson Observatory. The 100-inch, along with its sister telescope, the 60-inch, are owned by the Carnegie Institution for Science.

The Hale Telescope is a 200-inch (5.1 m), f / 3.3 reflecting telescope at the Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California, US, named after astronomer George Ellery Hale.

Apr 11, 2014 · The public areas of the Observatory consist of the A.W. Greenway Jr. Visitor Center and the Visitors Gallery inside the 200-inch Hale Telescope (P200) dome. The Visitor Center also features the Palomar Observatory Gift Shop, which is …