Palomar Observatory Tour Getting inside the 200in Hale Telescope
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- A quick summary of the Palomar Observatory. Many thanks to CaptainCaustic and Palomarskyguy for helping set this up. It was greatly appreciated.
/ captaincaustic
/ palomarskyguy
The scope itself is intimidating impressive. You stand it Its Presence. Seeing the collage of technology was fascinating (from the smell of Victorian steam engines to the 8W laser used for the adaptive optics (along with actuators that twitch about 2000 times per second)).
The dome itself also has a feel of Roman Empire Grandure. The building is beautiful and white.
Thursday 23nd july
Well, didnt really get up the dawn chorus broke out, and the light grew more full, and then I could see the high cloud that had ruined the seeing for the latter half of the night. No matter, both transits could clearly be seen, and Im pretty sure to meteor impact site too! (southern hemisphere) Packed up the scope and drove up to observatory. There by 7ish. Slept in car till they opened gates at 9ish. Had the observatory much to myself. And amazing place, got a vaguely greek feel to it. Very white, large buildings, tied up with the discovery of the unknown. Had a nose around myself, before trying to call the outreach guy. My phone struggled for signal, so I asked for help from one of the helps in the visitors center. The guys name was Scott. We got on well. Very much kindred spirits with an appreciation for what these great machines symbolize. The Palomar observatory is over 50 years old, but its mass has the feeling of mightier than man. It dwarfs you you stand in its presence it is an icon of what men achieve when they work together. I was honored to be able to get inside this machine, both in the yoke of the main drive axis, and in the cage under the scope. This place like the VLA is a curious museum of the technology of the ages. The construction, equatorial as there was no technology for alt-az, the drive motor, the whole thing smells of the characterisitic Victorian oils used in steamtrains. The whole thing predates computers. The balancing for the mirror, a sort of mechanical computer for automatically adjusting the force applied to the mirror as the scope changes its altitude. Then there is a mixture of early technology that looks like its from the space race years oscilloscope type CRTs for displaying the position of the scope. Then there is the uber advanced, the 8W laser used for the adaptive optics, the adaptive mirror, with actuators twitching at about 2000 times per second. The IR, and radar to ensure that they dont shoot down planes. It is a magnificent place. Even by modern standards it seems impossible that men could have merely built this scope, but when you look at the high tech end of it (which while it doesnt have any of the intimidating scale to it), it scraped the face of the impossible. Spent a couple of hours going around the scope. The drive down into the valley was very long and winding- a tough drive I didnt remember it being so long and winding on the way up, nor was I aware of the drop offs on the sides.
rest of entry cut as too long!
That telescope would be quite an amazing instrument even if it had been built today, but to think it was designed and built in the 1930's/40's without the aid of computer simulations or other modern technology, and it is still an active research instrument after all these years....I find that completely mind-blowing.
I feel fortunate to live within an hour driving time to Palomar. Big trees and nice campground nearby as well. A good amount of dwarf planets were discovered in the early 2000s at Palomar. really cool that it's still viable. The story of how they managed to get all that stuff up the twisty mountain road back then is amazing as well.
I grew up in SD and we took a school field trip to the observatory as part of our science program. Ever since I've been addicted to the night sky. Cant beat it. Just unfortunate the amount of light pollution we've added since then.
Thanks for the video. I visited the "Big Eye" in March 2003 after waiting 57 years to tour the observatory. Phenomenal, near perfect machine, was worth the wait.
Thanks for sharing that, and it was extremely kind of PZ Myers to serve as your person tour guide. He must be looking for an octopus on Alpha Centauri. :)
Wonderful. Very interesting....I didn't even know that place existed.
Thank you Tf00t
On July 26th, 1974 at 628pm, there was a paranormal psychokinesis experiment at NBC universe studio in Los Angeles. At that moment all the clocks stop at Mount Palomar Observatory.
There's a book called "The Perfect Machine" which describes the construction of the Mount Palomar observatory and the difficulties of building the 200 inch telescope.
I remember looking through old astronomy books as a kid noticing so many spectacular photographs taken with the Hale telescope at Mt. Palomar.
thanks for filming this. Was very interesting listening to.
That was very good thanks for sharing
Little tip for you! (Courtesy of NewScientist magazine.) If you go out into bright sunlight, and it makes you start sneezing, then go back into the shade for a few seconds (you should stop sneezing), then come back out into the sunlight. Problem fixed, no sneezing a second time...
Thank you for this amazing video.
Tf, you're so excited! It's endearing.
thanks Scott!
This is just bad ass. Thanks for sharing!
you should make it out to Charlottesville VA and get a tour of the Technology building for the NRAO. You would love hearing about ALMA.
This is awesome. I live in the Canary Islands, I'm definitely heading out to see the GTC(biggest optical telescope ever built, inaugurated 2 days ago) sometime in the near future when they start admitting visitors if they haven't already.
Hehe, great run up the stairs there. =)
Excellent video as per usual.
Wow! This was nice. Thanks for the upload!
Larry, Taiwan
This is so very Awesome !
Thanks for the tour, Scott and Thunderf00t!
I watched a documentary about Hale and the building of the Palomar telescope - it was quite amazing.
I attended San Diego State an got out to Palomar once to see it. Not the tour you got, but just being outside that massive dome was impressive. Hugely bigger than Mt Wilson which was itself impressive.
Thanks again.
As a teenager I had a book about this telescope. It's one of two of my favourite telescopes. The other is the Joddrel Bank Radio Telescope in Cheshire UK; I seen that one; wish I could go to Palomar.
amazing place!
Up the stairs of knowledge where PCS will never dare to go :)
It's good to see you enjoying yourself TF, that looked amazing.
This is AMAZING.
Awesome stuff! Thank you VERY much for sharing it with us all!
Very good stuff.
You deserve to have your own show on discovery!!!
Very interesting! This could be a bit on Reading Rainbow.
Fascinating stuff. Keep it up TF!
I LOVE SCOTT.
seriously.
Amazing.
adaptic optics technology is very cool.
thanks to CaptainCaustic and Palomarskyguy for helping set this up,
WOW what an great tour.....
this is really close to where I live. i didnt know you were traveling that far south in California.
9:59
Sounded a lil' sinister....
Exactly...exactly.....
or mabye just a bit regretful.
Great tour.
lol @ "Blast the optic nerve..." Sounds like me, a very nerdy response to photic sneeze reflexes.
Great tour! Thanks for posting this. I plan on visiting the 200-inch Hale on Sunday the 27th this month. Can't wait! Can you share with me how you got in touch with Scott for the personal tour. I've been working in large optics fabrication for over 25 years and for my work have had the great pleasure of visiting the HET in Texas and the SALT telescope in South Africa. I'd love to get an inside view of this historical masterpiece!
Yeah still driving my scope on analog computer gear control and what not. Also using liquid nitrogen cooled 4 inch sensors driven by 90km laser guidance on my 530 ton telescope too. Palomar and me are old and new school!
Hey Tfoot, Ive been there before. Its near a camp ground that has telescope pads...its just down the hill a few miles it will be on your left handside
Hmm... I'm feeling inspired.. I'm not that far from the largest refracting telescope currently existing (there was a bigger one but it was a failure). I have no inside contacts, I doubt I could get this kind of personal tour... but I wonder...
4:47 I too have the photic sneeze reflex.
3:47 wow.. just a few ounces! Incredibly lucky man TF.
There are many relatively small asteroids with "moons" as well. By the 2006 definition, planets need to orbit the sun, achieve hydrostatic equilibrium, and (where pluto fails) clear their orbital neighborhood.
Tfoot has the optic nerve sneezes too.
Photic sneeze reflex, its an inherited trait. Not everybody has it.
4:40, photic sneeze reflex :P
Love your videos there just to good
"Please do a tour of the Parkes radio telescope"
Parkes might be the only "movie star" I would ever want to meet.
PROTIP: Once you see it. You can't unsee it.
"Are you afraid of heights?" - haha what a question to ask Thunderf00t, who is in many of his videos standing right on the edge of huge cliffs. :D
F*ing amazing!
5/5!
cool vid, I admit i dont know what their talkng about a lot of the time, but it is still cool. Too bad that it has so few views.
Lol, the first time i saw that 'thing' at 0:50, i thought it was a smiley face drawn by some vandal! It was only upon closer inspection that i realise the 'eyes' were the bolts and the 'smile' was some...thing. Dont know what it is called.
True true, it's just after making fun of Thunder he took it upon himself to challenge him. Thunderfoot should turn north to "canada" if that's even where PCS really is for another debate.
I just saw the Palomar Observatory on the news, it appears to be on fire. Or at least the land right next to it. :(
Photic sneeze reflexers of the world - unite!
amazing, love these vids =]
"So are you afraid of heights?"
"Not really."
I could've guessed. Mister i'm-gunna-stand-right-on-the-edge-of-a-massive-cliff. :P
Thanks for the vid.
Well, no one denounced it's planetary status. It is just a dwarf planet. It is one of many, like Eris, which is bigger than Pluto.
Why are your videos to great :)
Whoa.
I'd pay a lot of money to get to look through that...
0:49 Smiley Face Telescope! :)
I think you misunderstood, I didn't say it was an asteroid. other then orbiting the sun what dose it do to act like a planet?
In fact it was my PhD work with my colleagues , developing a sodium lidar to create an artificial star in Germany from 1980 on; prior to the US "classified" work.
Typical silly US idea to classify this work, since all technical details had already been published broadly at that time !
I'm waiting for someone to claim the footage captured an orb at 2:35.
He's not afraid of heights, he's afraid of "brights"! Hahaha!!!
Ah, I'm so funny... :P
should we start including all the asteroids that orbit the sun?
That's pretty amazing T!
Thank you lover boy!
God Bless Tf00t, LMAO
According to Wikipedia: "The condition affects 18-35% of the human population."
I am also included in this group.
What kind of power train has the capacity to move 530 tons, using only 1/12 Horsepower?!?!?
Will I hurt the moon's feeling if I do? I'm sorry I didn't realise it was so vulnerable. I take everything back. I apologise moon.
Haha, TF is like a child in a candy store in this one :)
Which tour was this?
ok that was a good video. But I still want my muhahaha to stand
Mercury and Venus have no moons are they still planets? I'm sure if your claim of what wikipidia is accurate 134340 would only be an additional identifier not a replacement of the name Pluto.
lucky man TF
He's like a kid in a candy store.
Damn you walk fast XD
The inside of that place looks like a prison.
Wow can I have that telescope please
Photic sneeze reflex.
Meh...
Great vid as per normal. Machinery Pr0n in addition to nerd Pr0n.
rebel wiothout a cause
I'M FUCKING GOING TO SCHOOL THERE
legalizemarijuananos, calm down man; first it is still a planetary body. That guy is then mistaken. It is considered a dwarf planet because it only fits 2 of the 3 criteria for an, essentially, full grown planet.
530 ton telescope* :D
That was a joke at the expense of people who claim that supernatural orbs exist which can only be captured by photographs. :)
Back to the Future, lol.
just take a toke on a joint and relax man.
fithsies
haha "are you afraid of hights?"
umm...... ive kinda been exposed to hights......
ffs :( went to hit play after I paused it and hit 1 star :( sob.
That's the famous atheist blogger Thunderf00t?
Probably because he is a troll.
Urgh, that's horrible. But I lol'd.
legalizemarjuananous
Why the hell does it matter? It's just a label.
Lol
would like to see religion build that.
Is TF afraid of hieghts. HA!
1st. Muhahaha