Interesting shapes
The telescope as seen from the mezzanine level, where the horseshoe-shaped guider is more obvious.
Bienniel cleaning
An enormous vacuum chamber sits on the main floor to clean the 200-inch (5.08 meters) mirror every two years.
Alignment ensured
The steel Hartmann screen helped ensure that the final version of the mirror was perfectly aligned.
How it works
A scale model of the mirror: The triangular gaps allowed airflow, while the round holes hosted actuators to move the mirror.
A peak into history
A movable model of the telescope sits in front of the visitors gallery.
Controls
The control panel for the historic Hale telescope.
More controls
The control panel for the Hale telescope from another angle.
Prepping
The concrete disk that helped engineers prepare the telescope for the arrival of the glass mirror sits outside near the parking lot.
Signage
This way to the visitors gallery!
Welcome to eh observatory
The visitors center allows a peek inside the observatory, also sharing videos of the mirror cleaning and the original 18-inch (46 centimeters) telescope that was hosted at Palomar.
