2006-2007 Orange Book: Internet Directory
Palomar Observatory

The project was planned in the 1930s but was not completed until after World War II, in 1948. Until the orbiting Hubble scope was launched, the 200 inch Hale telescope was responsible for more astronomical discoveries than any other instrument in history.

Palomar Observatory gets thousands of visitors annually. There is no fee to visit the observatory, which is open daily, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Through an observation window viewers can see the enormous horseshoe-shaped mechanism that moves the telescope under the dome. The telescope actually rides on an infinitesimally thin layer of oil.

The gears in the machinery that move the mirror are almost as big in circumference as the mirror itself. These same gears have been in use for nearly 50 years.

That machinery was built by the Westinghouse Corporation in the 1930s. The giant mirror was cast by Corning and then polished to incredible degrees of finess at Cal Tech in Pasadena.

No one actually ``looks'' through the telescope, in the sense you set up your telescope in the back yard. When it was first built, astronomers exposed photographic plates in long exposures lasting late into the cold nights. Today they catch light on the light sensitive diodes, which translate energy from billions of light years away into recognizable images.

Aside from the observatory, the mountain itself draws thousands of visitors annually. Part of the San Jacinto range, its ecology is more closely related to the Sierra Nevadas.

The mountain, whose summit is 6,140 feet, has some of the most stable weather on earth, an average of over 200 clear days a year. That clear weather is on the east face. The western face catches moisture-bearing ocean winds. This causes up to 65 inches of rain and snow, making it the wettest point in Southern California.

If you visit Palomar Mountain, take a full tank of gas, since the mountain has no gas stations.

You can scale the mountain by two routes: The first is the Highway to the Stars, which you take from I-15, exiting at Escondido, then take County Hwy S-6, which passes through Valley Center before plunging into Pauma Valley, then up thrilling dogleg curves and steep grades.

This road had to be built to the mountain's summit before the enormous Corning mirror could be transported to its home under the dome.

The other route, picks up Hwy 79 in Santa Ysabel, and takes County Hwy S-7 at Lake Henshaw.

Once you've seen the observatory, there's the 1900 acre Palomar Mountain State Park. The park offers camping, hiking, picnicking and fishing at Doane Pond. The pond, and its tranquil, almost spiritual glade, is the most visited area in the park. The pond is stocked with hundreds of trout. There is a $5 parking fee and a $1 fee for dogs.

The park has 31 developed camps and three group camps open March-October. They cost $12-14 a night. You need quarters for the rest rooms.