On the Road Again . . .

I'll be on the road giving a talk on the history of building the Hale Telescope this Friday night at 8:30 p.m. at the Bianchi Planetarium at Cal State Northridge.

Here's a photo that will be in the show. It was taken back in 1936 by Earnest A. Whichelo, the manager of Consolidated Western Steel, as one of the welders paused to have his photo taken. CWS was the main contractor who built the dome for the 200-inch telescope.

The photo comes from a collection of photos donated to the observatory by Cindy Johnson, daughter of Earnest Whichelo. We thank Ms. Johnson and the others over the years that have returned parts of Palomar Observatory's history back to us. Each photo is a treasure and reminds us of the tremendous work done by the people who made the Hale Telescope what it is.