Mount Wilson Observatory

Founded in December 1904 by George Ellery Hale as one of the original scientific enterprises of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Mt. Wilson Observatory is completing its first century as one of the worlds premier astronomical observatories. During the first half of the twentieth century Mt. Wilson was successively home to the worlds two largest telescopes as well as the most powerful facilities in existence for studying the sun. In the twenty-first century, the Observatory hosts several of the most technologically advanced facilities in the world for studying astronomical objects with unprecedented resolution and clarity. The 100-inch Hooker telescope remains in active scientific service, and the solar towers are daily collecting data representing the worlds longest continuous record of the sun.