The dignified institution on a quiet, mostly residential Pasadena street that was behind the discovery 100 years ago of the Cosmos beyond the Milky Way Galaxy celebrates a century of pioneering science today.
Less well known than Caltech and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Carnegie Observatories operates the Hooker telescope where astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered the vast universe beyond our galaxy, and that the universe is expanding.
Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena is holding its 16th Annual Open House today from 2 to 5 p.m. for an afternoon of discovery that explores the past, present and future of astronomy at its offices at 813 Santa Barbara Street in Pasadena.
This year, Carnegie Observatories is connecting then and now as they celebrate the upcoming 100th anniversary of first light on the 100-inch Hooker telescope at Mt. Wilson.
“Edwin Hubble made the discovery that there are galaxies beyond our own and that the universe is expanding,” Jeff Rich, outreach coordinator for Carnegie Observatories, said. “We went from being the only galaxy in the universe to being one of billions and billions, and the universe went from a few hundred thousand light years to billions of light years big.”
Edwin Hubble remained on the staff of Mount Wilson Observatory, one the Carnegie Observatories, until his death in 1953. The Hubble Space Telescope was named after him.
The Open House is an opportunity to meet the Observatories’ astronomers and learn about their discoveries at the frontiers of science today. Visitors can see amazing photos from Las Campanas, Carnegie’s state-of-the-art observatory in Chile; visit the Machine Shop to see how instruments are made for their telescopes in Chile; tour the historic Hale Library and learn about more than a century of pioneering achievements by Carnegie scientists; and view the sun through a solar telescope.
The event will also feature the latest update on the Giant Magellan Telescope, one of the most powerful next-generation telescopes, and a display of historical astronomical images on glass plates, including a 15-inch sunspot spectrum taken in 1919.
The Open House coincides with Connect Week Pasadena, a festival of independently organized talks, workshops, and social events produced by independent organizers and hosted in venues all across Pasadena.
“We’re glad to be a part of Connect Week,” Rich said. “We fit in because we do a little bit of everything here, we have the scientists and the engineers and the machinists, and there are folks doing innovative work with instrumentation as well as science.”
Connect Week is from October 13 to 22 and is organized by Innovate Pasadena. During the Week, entrepreneurs, engineers, investors, scientists, educators, business people, designers, and students come together to celebrate the creativity and ingenuity that’s right in Pasadena’s own backyard.
Rich said they may not be doing a whole week of events with all of Connect Week’s partners, but they’ll be planning on possibly a bigger participation next year.
Visitors to the Open House can also bring their questions about the universe through an Ask the Astronomer table at the venue, while children can take part in interactive activities such as “making” their own constellation and other astronomy-related events.
Ice cream, drinks and music will be available at the Observatories’ outdoor backyard.
“We’ll have a whole bunch of different events and exhibits,” Rich said. “We’ll have a couple of speakers giving talks every 40 minutes about both the history and the science. We’ll have a couple of displays in the courtyard from, we’re having infrared telescope for people that will have folks from GMT, the Giant Magellan Telescope Corporation. All the partners are here to talk about the next big telescope. Our workshop will be open with some displays done by the machinists and engineers there.”
Carnegie’s Open House is open to everyone, and no RSVP is necessary. For more information, call (626) 577-1122 or visit http://ift.tt/2ifkOpV.
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