Hi Phillip,
Thanks for the kind words to Cheryl-Anne and I. The 200 inch
telescope at Palomar is truly an amazing sight. As you probably
know, it was the largest telescope in the world for many decades.
The 2 Keck telescopes have surpassed it in size but the 200 inch
still represents the pinnacle for a monolithic single mirror
instrument. It's really a massive instrument. The tube alone weighs
something like 150 tons. All that to precisely support only an ounce
of aluminum which provides the reflective surface.
Here is an entertaining photo showing the posted speed limit at the
telescope:
http://www.astro.caltech.edu/palomar/images/speed.limit.jpg
In answer to your question, there is a visitors gallery which is open
to the public. The gallery is enclosed in glass and is inside the
dome of the 200 inch itself so much can be seen from this vantage
point. There is also a museum and gift shop open to the public.
I do have a few interesting stories to share about the observatory.
I've had 4 opportunities over the past 25 years to take private tours
of the 200 inch. One involved a friend of mine who received a ph'd
in Astrophysics from CalTech. He was given the keys to the
observatory so we were able to roam freely around and see it close
up. It ended up being a foggy night so the researchers that were
there were bored (and bummed!) and we ended up talking to them for
quite awhile about their research (something about measuring iron
content in the stars in other galaxies).
The most recent trip was last year and was really special. A friend
of mine who is one of the principles of a company called SpaceDev
(which was in the news recently for manufacturing the booster that
powered SpaceShip One), hired as an intern the son of the caretaker
of the 200 inch. As a treat the caretaker took us on the most
informative private tour of the entire observatory that I've ever
been on. As a special treat we were allowed to star gaze through the
60 inch telescope which in itself is an amazing research grade
instrument. I've never seen such bright, perfectly focused, deep sky
objects in my life. It was like looking through a porthole into
space. Unfortunately, star gazing on my 10" telescope has never been
the same since...
Regards,
Mark
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], "pvmanning2003" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Hi Cheryl,
> Thank you and Mark for your updates on the ASH conference. Your
> communications were clear, enlightening, and useful, which is all
you can
> ask from a journalist.
> I really envy your trip to Mt. Palomar. I would love to see the
telescope
> where Edwin Hubble discovered that all the galaxies were moving
away
> from one another, a finding that led to the Big Bang theory. Did
you need
> to arrange your visit with someone or did you simply walk in and
look
> around?
>
> Best,
> Phillip Manning
> Chapel Hill, NC
> http://www.scibooks.org
>
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