Mount Wilson Observatory

Mount Wilson Observatory sits atop the San Gabriel Mountains above Pasadena, California. Founded in 1904 by George Ellery Hale and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Mount Wilson was home to a series of solar and nighttime telescopes that were the largest in the world. In the first half of the 20th Century, astronomers used the telescopes at Mount Wilson Observatory to forever alter humankind's view of our place in a vast and expanding Universe. Today, the Observatory is run by the nonprofit Mount Wilson Institute, and is open to the public for tours, events, and nighttime viewing through the historic telescopes.