Mount Wilson Observatory logbooks
Finding aid prepared by Gina C Giang.
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Fax: (626) 449-5720
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© March 2019
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Mount Wilson Observatory logbooks
Inclusive Dates: 1909-1975
Collection Number: mssMtWilson1
Collector:
Mount Wilson Observatory
Extent:
3 boxes (1.25 linear feet)
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Fax: (626) 449-5720
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: 12 bound logbooks relating to the construction and use of the 60" and 100" telescopes at Mount Wilson Observatory.
Language of Material: The material is in English.
Administrative Information
Related Materials in the Huntington Library
Approximately fifty additional separate collections form the Mount Wilson papers of the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution
of Washington are available for research in the Huntington Library.
Access
Collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information,
please go to following
web site .
Publication Rights
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
Mount Wilson Observatory logbooks. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Acquisition Information
Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington Collection, Deposit, 1988.
Biography
The Mount Wilson 60" telescope began as a gift from George Ellery Hale's father, William Hale, in 1894. In 1904, funding to
finish the project was obtained, and once built, it became one of the most prolific and important telescopes in astronomical
history.
The 100" Hooker telescope, funded in part by John D. Hooker and the Carnegie Institute of Washington, was completed in 1917.
It was used to measure the precise diameter of stars for the first time. Edwin Hubble's work indicating the existence of galaxies
outside our own, and the phenomena of redshift, was also completed with the help of the 100" telescope.
Scope and Content
Box 1: Five logbooks from the use of the 60" telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory from 1909 through 1923. Box 2: One logbook
from the use of the 60" telescope from 1924 through 1935 and three logbooks relating to the construction and use of the 100"
telescope from 1916 through 1941. Box 3: Three logbooks relating to the construction and use of the 100" telescope from 1942
through 1975.
Indexing Terms
Corporate Names
Carnegie Institution of Washington
Mount Wilson Observatory
Subjects
Astronomical observatories
Astronomy -- Research
Space sciences -- Research
Telescopes
Geographic Areas
Mount Wilson (Calif.)
Genre
Logs (records)
60" telescope logbooks
1909-1935
Box 1, Folder 1
1909 July 12-1913 December 31
Box 1, Folder 2
1914 January 1-1915 December 31
Box 1, Folder 3
1916 January 1- 1917 December 31
Box 1, Folder 4
1918 January 1-1919 December 31
Box 1, Folder 5
1920 January 1-1923 December 31
Box 2, Folder 1
1924 January 1-1935 June 30
100" telescope logbooks
1916-1975
Box 2, Folder 2
1916 January 1-1922 June 17
Box 2, Folder 3
1922 July 1-1930 December 31
Box 2, Folder 4
1931 January 1-1941 December 31
Box 3, Folder 1
1942 January 1-1953 June 30
Box 3, Folder 3
1964 July 12-1975 November 30
