Carnegie Observatories

Carnegie Observatories is the astronomical research arm of Carnegie Science, an independent research organization founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1902. Its origins trace to 1904, when George Ellery Hale obtained support from the newly formed Carnegie Institution of Washington to found the Mount Wilson Solar Observatory in the San Gabriel mountains near Pasadena, California. Carnegie Observatories researchers have contributed to major discoveries including the expansion of the universe and dark energy, and the division continues its work today at its world-famous Las Campanas Observatory in Chile.

In 1904 George Ellery Hale, seeking clearer skies than existed near his native Chicago, obtained support from the newly formed Carnegie Institution of Washington to found the Mount Wilson Solar Observatory in the San Gabriel mountains near Pasadena, California. Hale was determined to push beyond the descriptive astronomy of earlier generations to understand the internal physics of the Sun and the stars. Stellar telescopes soon followed the initial solar telescopes on Mount Wilson, each the largest in the world at the time of its construction; first light on the 60-inch was in 1908 and first light on the 100-inch Hooker telescope was in 1917. The Mount Wilson telescopes transformed astronomy and astrophysics: Shapley mapped the globular cluster system of the galaxy, Hubble discovered the expanding universe, Baade first recognized the phenomenon of stellar populations, and Adams, Joy, Sandage, and others established the empirical basis for theories of stellar structure and evolution. In 1928 Carnegie and Mount Wilson astronomers persuaded the Rockefeller Foundation to fund a 200-inch telescope on Palomar Mountain; title was given to the California Institute of Technology, which joined with Carnegie to form the Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories, a partnership that lasted until 1980. First light on the Palomar Hale telescope was in 1949. Carnegie astronomers had long wanted an observing station in the Southern Hemisphere for access to the Magellanic Clouds and the center of the Milky Way, leading to Las Campanas Observatory. Today Carnegie Observatories researchers continue their work at the world-famous Las Campanas Observatory in Chile.

A research division of Carnegie Science conducting forefront astronomy, from cosmology and distant galaxies to instrument development and exoplanets.

1. 1Observatories | Carnegie Sciencecarnegiescience.edu
2. 2Our History | Carnegie Sciencecarnegiescience.edu
3. 3Observatories History | Carnegie Sciencecarnegiescience.edu
4. 4About Us | Carnegie Sciencecarnegiescience.edu
5. 5Carnegie Observatorieswikidata.org