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News from Mount Wilson:

Huell Howser featured Mount Wilson Observatory in a one-hour California's Gold special airing on Southern California PBS stations in June and July. Airtimes are: KCET, Los Angeles, Sunday, June 20 at 7 pm & Saturday, June 26 at 7 pm; KVIE, Sacramento, Thursday, July 1 at 8 pm; KVPT, Fresno, Thursday, July 1 at 8 pm & Sunday, July 18 at 7 pm; KVCR, San Bernardino, Thursday, July 1 at 8 pm. Don't miss it!

Professor Charles Townes, leader of Berkeley's Infrared Spatial Interferometer on Mount Wilson and Nobel Laureate for his invention of the maser, reflects on the fiftieth anniversary of the laser.

The Michelson Prize, a new award in the field of optical interferometry is being co-sponsered by the Mount Wilson Institute and the International Astronomical Union.

New images from the CHARA Array showing the eclipse in the mysterious 27-year binary system epsilon Aurigae have been published in Nature.

2010 Mount Wilson Calendar is now available for on-line ordering

60-inch Telescope Model - Reserve one from a second edition

Mount Wilson: One year after the Station Fire - The Station Fire was set by an as yet unidentified arsonist on 26 August 2009. Sky and Telescope has an online perspective on this anniversary by Observatory Director Hal McAlister.

FLASH! - Huell Howser's Special "California's Gold" episode on Mount Wilson Observatory will air again on KCET, September 14, 2010 from 9:00 to 10:00 pm. Enjoy it once again!

The Cosmic Cafe on Mount Wilson Saturdays & Sundays 10 am - 4 pm Also open Labor Day, September 6! The Cosmic Cafe's first customer, Gale Gant, picks up his ham sandwich from cafe manager Elisa Webster at the cafe's soft opening on June 26, 2010.

The Cosmic Cafe is now open on weekends from 10 am to 4 pm on Mount Wilson and offers a variety of fresh-made sandwiches and other treats to visitors to the Observatory. Not since 1992 has food been available for purchase on the mountain. The Cafe is located in the Pavilion overlooking the large parking lot at the entrance to the Observatory. A press release announcing the cafe is available here. A map and driving directions showing the current route to Mount Wilson Observatory are available here. Once again, there is a welcoming and refreshing destination at the end of the road or the trail for hikers and bikers - both bicyclists and motorcyclists - as well as those who wish to discover the wonders of Mount Wilson Observatory from the comfort of their automobiles following a memorable trip through the recovering Angeles National Forest.

The Observatory is open to public visitation daily from 10 am to 4 pm during April 1 - November 30, 2010. The normal access via the Angeles Crest Highway has been interrupted. Detailed information regarding visits and tours is given here. Please pay particular attention to the "Special Access Notice" accompanying that information.

We Need Your Support - Mount Wilson Observatory is privately owned and receives no continuing state or federal support. You can help ensure the continued operation of this science heritage site with your tax deductible gift in one of three ways. Click here to find out how help preserve and revitalize this world-class treasure of science and engineering.

Founded in December 1904 by George Ellery Hale, Mount Wilson Observatory would quickly rise to dominate astronomy worldwide. It was successively home to the world's two largest telescopes as well as the most powerful facilities in existence for studying the sun. Those pioneering instruments and the brilliant scientists who used them revolutionized astronomy through such discoveries as:

• relocating the sun far from the center of the Milky Way galaxy
• the existence of countless galaxies and an enormous Universe
• the magnetic field of the sun and its key role in solar activity
• the recession of the galaxies implying the Big Bang
• populations of stars of various ages

In the twenty-first century, the Observatory hosts several of the most technologically advanced facilities in the world for studying astronomical objects with unprecedented resolution and clarity. The 100-inch Hooker telescope remains in active scientific service, and the solar towers are daily collecting data representing the world's longest continuous record of the sun.

Since 1986, Mt. Wilson Observatory has been operated under an agreement with the Carnegie Institution of Washington (CIW) by the Mount Wilson Institute (MWI), a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation whose mission focuses on scientific research, historic preservation, astronomical education and public outreach. Guest institutions operating facilities on the Observatory grounds include: the University of California, Berkeley; Georgia State University; the University of California, Los Angeles; and the University of Southern California.

View the Universe through Mount Wilson's historic 60-inch telescope, the largest in the world made exclusively available to the public. Celebrate your special occasion or indulge your interest in astronomy with a memorable and unique experience. Many great nights of observing are still available for the 2010 season.