Mount Wilson (California)

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Mount Wilson

The north slope of Mount Wilson as seen from Angeles Crest Highway
Elevation 5,710 ft (1,742 m)
Location California, USA
Range San Gabriel Mountains
Prominence 150 ft (45 m)
Coordinates 34°13′25″N, 118°03′42″W
Topo map USGS Mount Wilson

Mount Wilson is one of the more prominent peaks in the San Gabriel Mountains, part of the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County, California, USA. It is the location of the Mount Wilson Observatory and has become the astronomical center of Southern California with 60 inch (1524 mm) and 100 inch (2540 mm) telescopes, and 60 foot (18 m) and 150 foot (46 m) solar towers. It is located at 5,710 feet although surrounding peaks around the mountain can rise slightly above 6,000 feet. Due to this elevation, winter snow can sometimes interrupt astronomical activities on the mountain.

Mount Wilson is also referred to as a metro-media center for its relay broadcasting of radio and television frequencies for the Greater Los Angeles Area.

Contents

[edit] History

The local inhabitants of the San Gabriels were more than likely the various Tongva tribes of Native Americans who lived in the low-lying valleys. Granite outcroppings along the Angeles Crest show signs of meal preparations with metate pots ground into the surfaces.

The first known exploration of the mountain was performed by Benjamin Davis "Don Benito" Wilson. Wilson, grandfather to Gen. George S. Patton, Jr. was owner of Rancho San Pascual at the time and ran a winery at his home "Lake Vineyard" (ca. 1852) in the area of today's San Marino, California. Wilson hoped to find a suitable wood for his casks, but was disappointed by the poor quality of trees on the mountain. He blazed a trail from an old Indian trail called the Mount Wilson Trail, though it was probably not the same exact roadway we know today. He was surprised to find line shacks at the summit, probably left behind by earlier Spaniards who used to track down destructive grizzly bears. Wilson built a three room cabin along the trail called "Halfway House." Despite Wilson's inability to find adequate wood, the hike became a popular pastime for locals who would make a weekend trip to the summit. Signal fires would be built at the summit to let folks down below know that the hiking party had arrived safely.

[edit] Astronomy in the southland

Small telescope hut of the 1889 Harvard experiment established by Prof. William Pickering and Alvin Clark.
Small telescope hut of the 1889 Harvard experiment established by Prof. William Pickering and Alvin Clark.

In 1889 Harvard University's Prof. William Pickering along with Alvan P. Clark, famous lens grinder, prepared an experiment with a 4 and 13 inch (102 and 330 mm) telescope at Mount Wilson. University students would operate the telescopes for nighttime viewing, but more often than not they would log in "bad weather, no visibility" and head to town to relieve their boredom. The small observatory was abandoned with plans to build a larger one at a later date.

In 1891 Prof. Thaddeus S. C. Lowe incorporated the Pasadena & Mount Wilson Railroad with the plan of building a scenic mountain railroad to the summit of Mt. Wilson. At the same time land and easement disputes between camp owners Steils and Strain were going on over the public and private use of the Mount Wilson Trail. The courts ruled that the trail was a public thoroughfare and that any blockading would be illegal. At the foot of the mountain, a local contractor Thomas Banbury built a 10 mile (15 km) roadway to be named "The New Mount Wilson Trail," aka "The Mount Wilson Toll Road." Passage fare was 25¢ round trip for hikers and 50¢ for horseback.

In 1892 Prof. Charles William Eliot, president of Harvard University planned to have two 40-foot (12 m) lenses shipped from Alvin Clark and Sons in Corning, New York to the newly named Mount Harvard, directly adjacent to Mt. Wilson. The money was to be put up by Mr. Spence of the University of Southern California. Mr. Walter Raymond, of Raymond & Whitcomb Travel Agency, Boston, and owner of the Raymond Hotel, Pasadena, offered to pay for rail from New York. Prof. Lowe offered to take the lenses up via his yet-to-be-built Mt. Wilson Railway. Mr. Spence died suddenly and left no word of the money for the project. The lenses ended up at Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin, and Lowe's railway ended up going to Oak Mountain (Mount Lowe).

By 1901 The Mount Wilson Toll Road Co. had purchased Henninger Flats, Strain's Camp, Martin's Camp, and 640 acres (2.6 km²) of the summit.

In 1903 George Ellery Hale visited Mt. Wilson only to become so enthused by the perfect conditions for which to set up an observatory, which would become the Mount Wilson Observatory. In 1905 40 acres were leased for 99 years by the Carnegie Institute for telescopes and construction began on a new Mt. Wilson Hotel. In 1908 a 60 in (1524 mm) telescope was installed at the summit, and in 1910 the 150 Solar Tower was erected. In 1913 the hotel burned down and was replaced by a second hotel that lasted until its demolition in 1966. The Toll Road opened to automobiles in 1912 and lasted until 1936.

In 1917 the 100" Hooker Telescope became operational and would be the world's largest telescope until the opening of the 200" Palomar Hale Telescope in 1948.

In 1926 Albert Abraham Michelson made what was the most precise calculation of the speed of light at the time by measuring the round-trip travel time of light between Mount Wilson and Mount San Antonio 22 miles (35 km) away.

[edit] Metromedia center

In 1948 the first radio/television antenna was installed with more soon to follow. So popular became the Mt. Wilson site that the Metromedia Company bought 720 acres (2.9 km²) of the Mount Wilson Hotel Company. The Hotel was replaced with Skyline Park that closed in 1976 after having gone through almost a decade of operating in the red.

[edit] Mount Wilson Electronics Reservation

The Mount Wilson Electronics Reservation consists of numerous radio and television transmitters serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, together with microwave relay facilities used by AT&T and other entities. The roads in the Electronics Reservation consist of two one-way loops, although it is common to encounter oncoming traffic.

While the roadways in the Electronics Reservation are theoretically open to the public, this is a sensitive area. Any attempted entry into a transmitter site will almost certainly result in arrest.

[edit] Observatory salvaged

In 1984 the Carnegie Institute began the process of shutting down the observatories on Mt. Wilson, opting to concentrate on newer sites in Chile. But in 1986 the Mt. Wilson Institute was formed and plans to reopen the observatories were made so that by 2000 all the telescopes were back in operation.

Construction began in 1996 for six 1-meter telescopes by the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy at Georgia State University. This is the largest optical interferometric array ever built. The telescopes were installed in 1999 and the facility became operational by 2001.

[edit] See Also

[edit] External links and sources


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