Frequently Asked Questions

Is the observatory still doing research?

Yes! All of the primary telescopes are in use by different groups to conduct research.

What about the lights from Los Angeles?

"Light pollution" is a problem for observatories, and in some communities, action has been taken to limit the amount of stray light which is upward onto the sky. For diffuse objects, such as nebulae and galaxies, the presence of substantial light pollution can limit the quality of observations taken. This is one of the reasons why many modern observatories are located at remote sites.

Mount Wilson Observatory's proximity to Los Angeles does in part limit the kinds of nighttime research that can be done. However, observations of point sources such as stars and star clusters, nearby galazies and brighter solar system objects are feasible. In addition, the sky brightness does not affect observations of the Sun at the solar towers.

However, it is important to point out the following:

The sky brightness at Mount Wilson from Los Angeles is approximately equal to the sky brightness from the Full Moon. Therefore, every month, every observatory has a similar problem.
The atmospheric seeing (steadiness) is superb, and for clear, crisp images, Mount Wilson Observatory rivals or exceeds nearly every other observatory. This feature is utilized heavily in interferometry and adaptive optics.
Frequently, the marine layers wash into the Los Angeles basin, bringing thick cloud cover to much of the city. Since the observatory is located above the inversion layer, the tops of the clouds are below the elevation of the observatory, leaving clear and dark skies.

Here is an example showing light pollution from L.A. and the conditions when a marine layer is over L.A. taken from the same location.

Is it possible to look through the telescopes?

The telescopes are not open to the public. Competition within the scientific community for telescope time is fierce, and for the largest telescopes, the number of observing proposals greatly outnumbers the amount of time available. In order to maximize scientific reserach at the observatory, all of the available nights are used for scientific observation. (Very little observation is done by eye - astronomers typically watch their data come in on TV screens or on their computer consoles. So, it's the cameras that have the pleasure of actually "looking" through the telescopes!)

The Mount Wilson Observatory Association (MWOA), a local support group, does host "star parties" onsite where public viewing is done through telescopes brought to the mountain by dedicated amateurs.

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