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==History== [[File:Palomar Mountain Observatory 3c 1948 issue U.S. stamp.jpg|thumb|Palomar Mountain Observatory featured on 1948 United States stamp]] ===Hale's vision for large telescopes and Palomar Observatory=== Astronomer [[George Ellery Hale]], whose vision created Palomar Observatory, built the world's largest telescope four times in succession.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Ellery-Hale|title=George Ellery Hale {{!}} American astronomer|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2020-03-20}}</ref> He published a 1928 article proposing what was to become the 200-inch Palomar reflector; it was an invitation to the American public to learn about how large telescopes could help answer questions relating to the fundamental nature of the universe. Hale followed this article with a letter to the International Education Board (later absorbed into the [[General Education Board]]) of the [[Rockefeller Foundation]] dated April 16, 1928, in which he requested funding for this project. In his letter, Hale stated: "No method of advancing science is so productive as the development of new and more powerful instruments and methods of research. A larger telescope would not only furnish the necessary gain in light space-penetration and photographic resolving power, but permit the application of ideas and devices derived chiefly from the recent fundamental advances in physics and chemistry." ===Hale Telescope=== {{Main|Hale Telescope}} The 200-inch telescope is named after astronomer and telescope builder [[George Hale|George Ellery Hale]]. It was built by Caltech with a $6 million grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, using a [[Pyrex]] blank manufactured by [[Corning Glass Works]] under the direction of George McCauley. [[John August Anderson|Dr. J.A. Anderson]] was the initial project manager, assigned in the early 1930s.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Popular Mechanics|author=Hearst Magazines|title=Super Camera of the Skies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TtcDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA52|date=April 1942|publisher=Hearst Magazines|page=52}}</ref> The telescope (the largest in the world at that time) saw [[First light (astronomy)|first light]] January 26, 1949, targeting [[NGC 2261]].<ref>[http://365daysofastronomy.org/2009/01/26/january-26-60th-anniversary-of-hale-telescope-first-light/ "60th Anniversary of Hale Telescope,"] ''[[365 Days of Astronomy]]'' (podcast). January 26, 2009.</ref> The American astronomer [[Edwin Powell Hubble]] was the first astronomer to use the telescope. The 200-inch telescope was the largest telescope in the world from 1949 until 1975, when the Russian [[BTA-6]] telescope saw [[first light (astronomy)|first light]]. Astronomers using the Hale Telescope have discovered [[quasar]]s (a subset of what was to become known as [[Active Galactic Nuclei]]) at [[expansion of the universe|cosmological]] distances. They have studied the chemistry of stellar populations, leading to an understanding of the [[stellar nucleosynthesis]] as to origin of elements in the universe in their observed abundances, and have discovered thousands of [[asteroid]]s. A one-tenth-scale engineering model of the telescope at [[Corning Community College]] in [[Corning (city), New York|Corning, New York]], home of the Corning Glass Works (now Corning Incorporated), was used to discover at least one minor planet, [[34419 Corning]].{{JPL|34419|β }} ===Architecture and design=== [[File:Palomar Observatory Dome - High Resolution.jpg|thumb|Hale Telescope Dome]] [[Russell W. Porter]] developed the [[Art Deco]] architecture of the Observatory's buildings, including the dome of the 200-inch Hale Telescope. Porter was also responsible for much of the technical design of the Hale Telescope and Schmidt Cameras, producing a series of cross-section engineering drawings. Porter worked on the designs in collaboration with many engineers and Caltech committee members.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.space.com/26310-palomar-observatory.html|title=Palomar Observatory: Facts & Discoveries|last=June 2014|first=Elizabeth Howell 20|website=Space.com|date=20 June 2014|language=en|access-date=2020-04-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Palomar-Observatory|title=Palomar Observatory {{!}} observatory, California, United States|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2020-04-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/1998/october/palomar/|title=Palomar, After 50 Years|website=San Diego History Center {{!}} San Diego, CA {{!}} Our City, Our Story|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-06}}</ref> [[Max Mason]] directed the construction and [[Theodore von Karman]] was involved in the engineering. ===Directors=== * [[Ira Sprague Bowen]], 1948β1964 * [[Horace W. Babcock|Horace Welcome Babcock]], 1964β1978 * [[Maarten Schmidt]], 1978β1980 * [[Gerry Neugebauer]], 1980β1994 * [[James Westphal]], 1994β1997 * [[Wallace Leslie William Sargent]], 1997β2000 * [[Richard Ellis (astronomer)|Richard Ellis]], 2000β2006 * [[Shrinivas Kulkarni]], 2006β2018 * [[Jonas Zmuidzinas]], 2018β ===Palomar Observatory and light pollution=== Much of the surrounding region of Southern California has adopted shielded lighting to reduce the [[light pollution]] that would potentially affect the observatory.<ref>[http://www.darksky.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=55060&orgId=idsa International Dark-Sky Association] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080101110647/http://www.darksky.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=55060&orgId=idsa |date=2008-01-01 }} (IDA): [http://data.nextrionet.com/site/idsa/is020.pdf "Sky Glow Effect on Existing Large Telescopes"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714180114/http://data.nextrionet.com/site/idsa/is020.pdf |date=2011-07-14 }}, IDA Info #20.</ref>
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