http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2009/09/18/the-threat-to-mt-wilson/ Random samplings from a universe of ideas. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:58:50 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2009/09/18/the-threat-to-mt-wilson/comment-page-1/#comment-96365 Noadi Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:31:00 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=2545#comment-96365 Count Iblis: A lot of what Mt Wilson now does is solar astronomy because it isn't affected by light polution. They still do night observing but deep space stuff is limited. The really cool thing is that the 60 inch telescope is available for public use for a fee which I would love to do some day. Count Iblis: A lot of what Mt Wilson now does is solar astronomy because it isn’t affected by light polution. They still do night observing but deep space stuff is limited. The really cool thing is that the 60 inch telescope is available for public use for a fee which I would love to do some day.

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2009/09/18/the-threat-to-mt-wilson/comment-page-1/#comment-96311 Meredith Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:32:16 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=2545#comment-96311 I love how you can see Venus rise each morning before sunrise! ...the fires are pretty crazy, too. I'm SO glad the observatory pulled through. Go firefighters! I love how you can see Venus rise each morning before sunrise!
…the fires are pretty crazy, too. I’m SO glad the observatory pulled through. Go firefighters!

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2009/09/18/the-threat-to-mt-wilson/comment-page-1/#comment-96310 Julianne Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:20:56 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=2545#comment-96310 I wouldn't say it's the US's most forefront observatory at this point. However, it does have some excellent capabilities, in spite of its age. The site has superb "seeing" (i.e. how blurry stars look, due to turbulence in the atmosphere), which makes it ideal for interferometry. Interferometry is all about achieving high angular resolution (i.e. as sharp as HST (or sharper!), but from the ground). Such studies currently focus on very bright objects (planets, disks around bright nearby stars, etc), so the light pollution from LA doesn't matter too much. In addition, LA's lights are frequently buried under the "marine layer" at night, which helps as well. I wouldn’t say it’s the US’s most forefront observatory at this point. However, it does have some excellent capabilities, in spite of its age. The site has superb “seeing” (i.e. how blurry stars look, due to turbulence in the atmosphere), which makes it ideal for interferometry. Interferometry is all about achieving high angular resolution (i.e. as sharp as HST (or sharper!), but from the ground). Such studies currently focus on very bright objects (planets, disks around bright nearby stars, etc), so the light pollution from LA doesn’t matter too much. In addition, LA’s lights are frequently buried under the “marine layer” at night, which helps as well.

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2009/09/18/the-threat-to-mt-wilson/comment-page-1/#comment-96309 Count Iblis Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:47:47 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=2545#comment-96309 Can they still do useful astronomy from there, despite the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bortle_Dark-Sky_Scale" rel="nofollow">light pollution</a>? Can they still do useful astronomy from there, despite the light pollution?

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