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Hale & the Birth of Modern Seismology Hale & the Birth of Modern Seismology By Robert Anderson On July 6th, I happened to be standing under the Observatory’s 100-inch Hooker Telescope when the seismic waves from the magnitude 7.1 Ridgecrest earthquake rolled through. We were just about to start a night of observing the Universe, when the massive cement pier below started moving back and forth beneath our feet, suddenly reminding us of our own planet. The ripples moving by did not pack the violent acceleration of a nearby “Big One,” but definitely signaled a substantial quake somewhere in the region. The shaking lasted long Mount Wilson founder, George Ellery Hale, helped start enough to appreciate the telescope dome creaking in the Seismological Laboratory, where the world’s first response and the utter stability of the telescope’s mount. I network of seismographs to monitor local tremors was felt surprisingly safe beneath the hundred tons of moving built. Originally staffed by Carnegie funded scientists, it parts above me. Indeed, the only earthquake “damage” rapidly became the global “epicenter” of earthquake that Mount Wilson’s big telescopes have suffered over the studies, before being transferred completely to Caltech. years is a slight shift in their polar alignment away from true celestial north. The mountaintop granite, presumably The July 6th tremor was a good reminder of Southern along with the rest of the San Gabriels, has been rotated a California’s inevitable seismic hazards, and it motivated tiny bit by local shocks, the 1971 Sylmar quake in me to delve deeper into the connections between George particular. (The telescopes can be realigned, but it is not Ellery Hale, the founder of Mount Wilson Observatory, an easy thing to do nowadays.) and the advent of modern seismology. To Page 4 Saturday Evening, October 19 In this issue . The Monster at the Center of our Galaxy Modern Seismology …..…….1 Volunteer of the Year! ……….….7 A talk by Dr. Andrea Ghez, professor of physics and astronomy at UCLA, followed by a chance to look News + Notes ….………………2 Observatory Visiting + Map…..8 through the famous 100-inch Telescope 1919: Hubble Arrives! …….…3 Mount Wilson is Open to Visitors Weather and roads permitting, Mount Wilson Observatory will be open every day. Come on up to the mountain to enjoy the beautiful weather and uplifting surroundings! The Cosmic Café is open Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., offering a variety of fresh-made sandwiches and other treats. The Café also sells National Forest Adventure Passes and tickets for the weekend walking tours at 11:30 am and 1:00 pm. On other days the pass can be purchased at the gas station at the bottom of the Angeles Crest Hwy. Check our website at mtwilson.edu for upcoming events and telescope rentals. See you on the top! ANNOUNCEMENTS A B O U T U S NEWS + NOTES The Mount Wilson Institute FINAL 2019 CONCERTS AND TALKS AT operates Mount Wilson MOUNT WILSON OBSERVATORY Observatory on behalf of the Carnegie Institution for Science. We have two “Saturday Evening Talk and Mount Wilson Institute is Telescopes Nights” remaining this year. dedicated to preserving the The next one, on October 19, will be Observatory for scientific The research and fostering public Monster at the Heart of Our Galaxy, appreciation of the historic by Dr. Andrea Ghez, Professor of Physics cultural heritage of the and Astronomy at UCLA. As with all the Observatory. Reflections is lectures, it will be followed by viewing published quarterly by the Mount through the 100-inch Telescope. The last Wilson Institute. talk of the year, on Saturday, November 9, will be Europa Clipper Mission: INFORMATION Exploring a Potentially Habitable For information about the The supermassive black hole that lurks at the World, by Dr. Robert Pappalardo, the center of our Galaxy will be the topic of the Talk Observatory, including status, lead scientist on the mission at NASA’s and Telescopes Night at the Observatory on activities, tours, and reserving 60- Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Our last October 19. Credit: NASA- JPL/Caltech. inch and 100-inch telescope time, concert of the year will be on Sunday, visit our website: October 6, and will feature Mozart and Brahms Quintets for Clarinet and strings. Come mtwilson.edu enjoy the amazing acoustics of the 100-inch ✰ Telescope dome. Visit us at mtwilson.edu for more information. REFLECTIONS STAFF LOOK THROUGH OUR TELESCOPES Editor/Designer Robert Anderson The 60-inch & 100-inch telescopes provide incredible [email protected] Copy Editor views of some of the most beautiful objects in the Angie Cookson night sky, and are the largest in the world accessible to public viewing. For information on how you can Reflections is dedicated to the reserve time, available dates, fees, and make memory of Marilyn Morgan, the reservations — visit mtwilson.edu and click on the longterm, volunteer editor and “Observing” tab at the top. Look through the telescope designer of this newsletter that astronomer Edwin Hubble used to discover the ✰ expanding Universe! For the use of historical Don’t Want to Miss anything? photographs of Mount Wilson, Our last lecture, on November 9 we thank the Observatories of Subscribe to Mount Wilson Observatory News for will focus on Europa, Jupiter’s the Carnegie Institution for updates on concerts, lectures, public telescope nights, watery moon. Credit: NASA/JPL Science, the Huntington Library, and other sources as noted. and other events. Sign up at mtwilson.edu Reflections copyright © 2019, Mount Wilson Institute Help Sustain the Observatory PAGE ONE BANNER The Observatory receives no regular support from government or PHOTOGRAPH institutions.We rely on donors, a few small grants, and the revenue from (Inset) Astronomer Edwin our telescope nights to fund our continued operation.You can help Hubble at the Newtonian focus ensure the continued operation of this world class, science heritage site of the 100-inch telescope on with your tax-deductible gift. We welcome donations of any size!Visit Mount Wilson, circa 1923. mtwilson.edu for information on how to support the Observatory through donations, memberships, or volunteering. Thanks. REFLECTIONS 2 SEPTEMBER 2019 A LETTER FROM SAM HALE, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES The Centennial of Edwin Hubble’s Arrival at Mount Wilson 1919-2019 One hundred years ago, on September 3, 1919, Edwin Hubble arrived at Mount Wilson Observatory. It was a brilliant match of man and institution. My grandfather and director of the Observatory, George Ellery Hale, was not responsible for it, however. That credit goes to the assistant director Walter Adams who was looking for promising astronomers to staff the soon to be finished 100-inch telescope. He had heard of Hubble, who was finishing his Ph.d. at the University of Chicago’s Yerkes Observatory, and recommended him to Hale. After a little vetting of his own, Hale sent an offer to Hubble on November 1, 1916 to come work at Mount Wilson for $1,200 a year, upon completion of his dissertation. Hubble presumably accepted the offer immediately, but wrote Hale on April 10, 1917 to request a deferment in order to enlist in the army, a condition that Hale gladly accepted. Edwin Hubble’s first photo taken on Mount Wilson on October 19, 1919 with a 10-inch telescope. His target was Orion. The three bright belt stars are overexposed A few years after his arrival, Edwin Hubble’s work as he was probably focusing on the Orion’s nebula near revolutionized our understanding of the Universe. the bottom. Credit: Carnegie Observatories. As the centennial of his proof that “spiral nebulae” are in fact distant galaxies like our own approaches in the design phase, but we need to raise more money 2024, we are making great strides to improve the to cover the expense and begin construction. Observatory’s ability to handle an increasing number of visitors. But we cannot do it without help from hope that you value what our staff of dedicated our growing community of supporters. As many of I volunteers have achieved over the last few years to you already know, we receive no regular support from expand the Observatory’s programs. Please consider any level of government or from institutions. And going to our website (mtwilson.edu) to join us as a due to our charter the grounds are to be kept free member or make a donation to our Fall fundraising and open, so we cannot charge admission. drive. We appreciate your support, and thank you! Last year many of our friends helped us with our Sincerely, triple match to raise funds for new public restrooms near the telescope domes where we need them most. This project, along with other improvements, will Sam Hale make the Observatory more enjoyable for our many Chairman of the Board of Trustees visitors, school groups in particular. We have begun Mount Wilson Institute REFLECTIONS 3 SEPTEMBER 2019 Modern Seismology — "om page 1` It seems that, things to study, but only after peace returned following among his many other achievements, he played a critical WWI did things start to happen. In 1921, the Carnegie role in establishing the “Seismological Laboratory,” one of Advisory Board on Seismology was formed with eight the world’s preeminent centers for the study of prominent scientists. One of them was John Anderson, earthquakes, now jointly run by Caltech and the United the Mount Wilson physicist and instrument designer States Geological Survey. recruited by Hale had from Johns Hopkins University. He was the expert on making diffraction gratings to spread Hale had, of course, specialized in astrophysics with starlight into spectra—a key to advancing astrophysics phenomenal success, but his scientific interests were wide (see the September, 2017, Reflections archived at our ranging.
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