Mount Wilson Observatory

First snow of the season; not much, but measurable. (Photos by David Cendejas)

Lenticular Clouds over San Gabriel Mountains - Flying saucers in the sky.

Mt. Wilson Superintendent David Cendejas will be presenting "Mt. Wilson vs The Bobcat", a first-hand account of firefighters' efforts to save the Observatory. This will be a Zoom presentation for the Pasadena Senior Center, Monday, Nov. 16 at 2:00 PM

Excerpt from mountain logbook: "Efforts to instill fear of humans in bear unsuccessful so far." Fish and Wildlife advise us to maintain the status quo, but now he's showing up for work. Airhorns and the like have no effect.

Apple Cider, our refugee juvenile California Black Bear, is boldly out for a stroll in the afternoon. We are seeking resources to relocate him/her before cold winter weather sets in. (Photos by Blake Estes)

The HPWREN cameras are back!

Mars imaged through the 60" telescope this morning. (Image capture and processing - Blake Estes; telescope operation - Tom Meneghini). Added montage of red, green, blue and infrared subsets that were combined for the final image. Approximately 10,000 frames were captured for each color.

With all of the surrounding devastation in the forest, the Observatory is becoming something of refuge for the displaced, including our most recent ursid addition, "Apple Cider".

An explanation: The Observatory will not be accessible from the Sturtevant Trail, Rim Trail, Mt. Wilson Trail/Mt. Wilson Toll Road until the spring of 2022 unless this order is amended or rescinded.

We still have hot spots from the Bobcat Fire embedded in the deep drainage canyons around Mt. Wilson. The US Forest Service keeps a hotshot crew at the observatory overnight to stand watch. In the daytime we have active helicopter water drops on areas that flare up. (Photo by Stuart Landau - KPFK)

A virtual open house this year in place of the lawn event in Pasadena. We miss being there and assisting with our solar telescope to augment their wonderful educational projects and public outreach.

Although Angeles Crest Hwy will be open, Mt. Wilson Rd. will be restricted to residents, employees and contractors. Public access to the observatory will not be possible until further notice.

The Bobcat Fire is close to living only in history books.

A small strike crew patrolling the observatory grounds stopped at the 100" telescope and we were delighted to give them an impromptu tour of the facility.