Palomar Observatory - San Diego County, CA - Astronomical Observatories on Waymarking.com

Owned by the California Institute of Technology, this observatory has seven telescopes.

From the Observatory's website (visit link) "The telescopes of the Palomar Observatory 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 at the farthest reaches of the universe."

The Observatory's 200-inch Hale Telescope The 200-inch (5.1 m) was the world's largest effective telescope for 45 years (1948 - 1993) and is still used nightly.

Also at the site are a:
48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope
60-inch Telescope
Palomar Testbed Interferometer
Planet Search Telescope
18-inch Schmidt Telescope
24-inch Telescope


Since the Observatory is an active research center, visits are only permitted during the day: Visiting hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. while on Standard Time and 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. while Daylight Savings Time is observed. The site is open every day except Christmas and Christmas Eve.

There is a small Museum and gift shop near the Observatory.
The ride up to the site is very enjoyable- as you rise up long winding roads, you'll see roadside fruit stands- usually featuring locally grown avocados and oranges. You will also travel through several Indian Reservations....some of which have casinos.

Additional information can be found at the Wikipedia site: (visit link)

Observatory Purpose: Research Optical / Infrared Telescopes?: Yes Radio Telescopes?: No Open to the Public?: Yes Is this a Club Observatory?: No Public Viewing Allowed?: No Active Observatory?: Active Number of Telescopes or Antennas: 6 to 10 Site URL: [Web Link] Year Dedicated or Opened: 1948 Altitude (meters): 1713 Solar Telescopes?: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Note the time of day of your visit, and your own photo of your favorite part of the observatory. This might be the view from the observatory, picture of your favorite building or favorite exhibit. (Be mindful of flash photography rules!)

If you participated in an observing session, let everyone know what you saw!

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   08/19/2018 siff visited it 12/11/2011 Zaphody3k visited it 04/24/2010 Metro2 visited it

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