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Observatories and Instruments

Palomar Observatory

Ground-Based Optical Observatories

An astronomical research observatory in the Palomar Mountains of San Diego County, California, owned and operated by Caltech. Its 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope survey found the dwarf planet Eris on 5 January 2005 (from imaging taken 21 October 2003), a discovery that helped prompt the International Astronomical Union's 2006 redefinition of what counts as a planet.

Facts
Observatory Type
Ground-based optical observatory 2
Location
Palomar Mountain, San Diego County, California, United States 2
Operational
from 1949 2
Measures
Measures visible light across a wide range of subjects, from near-Earth asteroids to the outer Solar System and distant galaxies. 2
Operating Principle
The Hale Telescope is a 200-inch reflecting telescope with a Pyrex mirror blank, now aided by adaptive optics for sharper infrared imaging. 2
Classification
Observing Band
Infrared 1
Observing Band
Optical / Visible 1
Connections

Associated With

Eris, Celestial Objects
Source NASA Science - Eris (Dwarf Planets)NASA

Operated By

California Institute of Technology, Space Agencies and Companies
Source Palomar Observatory (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Located In

United States

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is located.

Sources
1. Palomar Observatory (Wikipedia)
  • Palomar Observatory, lead paragraph section
    The Palomar Observatory is an astronomical research observatory
  • Article text: band optical
    optical and near-infrared spectrometers and imaging cameras
  • Article text: band infrared
    optical and near-infrared spectrometers and imaging cameras
  • In Group: Optical Observatories of the Americas, Lead sentence
    The Palomar Observatory is an astronomical research observatory in the Palomar Mountains of San Diego County, California, United States.
  • Operated By: California Institute of Technology, Article text: operator
    It is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
View the Source
2. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Palomar Observatory, Hale Telescope section
    The 200-inch telescope is named after astronomer and telescope builder George Ellery Hale. It was built by Caltech with a $6 million grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, using a Pyrex blank
  • Palomar Observatory, Current research section
    Current research programs on the 200-inch Hale Telescope cover the range of the observable universe, including studies on near-Earth asteroids, outer Solar System planets
View the Source
NASA Science - Eris (Dwarf Planets)
NASA, NASADiscovery section
Quote, Discovery section
Eris was discovered on Jan. 5, 2005, from data obtained on Oct. 21, 2003, during a Palomar Observatory survey of the outer solar system by Mike Brown, a professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology; Chad Trujillo of the Gemini Observatory; and David Rabinowitz of Yale University.
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