Celebrating 75 Years of Discovery

200-inch (5.1-meter) Hale Telescope Media

The following is a collection of media pertaining the Hale Telescope, the 200-inch mirror, and its dome for educational and public relations purposes—please see conditions of use. For use of media not credited to Palomar Observatory, please contact its original source. For context, please visit the telescope page linked to above as well as the architecture page. To experience an immersive virtual visit to the Hale Telescope, please see our virtual tour page.

The Telescope

From the west.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

From the east.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

From the east.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

From the south.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

From the southeast.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

Telescope truss.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

From the south.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

Observing.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

Observing.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

Observing.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

During maintenance.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

Cassegrain cage and tour.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

The Hale Telescope and Dome (2020)

Video introducing the design and engineering of Hale Telescope. Duration: 2:51 minutes. (Palomar/Caltech)

The Mirror

The 200-inch mirror.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

200-inch disk.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

Before/after recoating.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

Before/after recoating.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

The 200-inch Mirror and Coating Chamber (2020)

About the 200-inch primary mirror and its maintenance. Duration: 3:06 minutes. (Palomar/Caltech)

Aluminization (2005)

Annotated (via subtitles) video of the aluminum recoating process for the 200-inch mirror. Duration: 2:20 minutes. (Palomar/Caltech)

The Dome

Dome at night.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

Dome at night.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

Dome in winter.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

Sunset and full moon.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

Star trails.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

Dome and flowers.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

Dome shutters.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

Dome shutters.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

Shutters detail.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

West gate and catwalk.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

Ventilation ports.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

Dome skirt.
(Palomar/​Caltech)

Science

Please visit the research slideshow page for a brief explanation of the research and observations being undertaken on the Hale Telescope during the current week.

Hale Telescope Science and Instruments (2020)

Review of the Hale's current instrumentation and scientific programs. Duration: 2:52 minutes. (Palomar/Caltech)

Seeing Planets Like Never Before (2014)

Documentary on finding exoplanets by the AMNH-led Project 1640 using the Hale Telescope. Duration: 9 minutes. (© AMNH).

Virtual Tour

This bilingual, high-resolution tour embeds relevant information, images, and video of the “Big Eye.” We recommend viewing the virtual tour on a desktop or laptop in fullscreen mode using the icon in the control bar. While it is possible to view the tour in smaller screens (e.g., large tablets), we suggest using the "lite" version of the tour for screens narrower than 700px (e.g, smaller tablets and smartphones). The lite tour is also VR-enabled, but lacks many of the features found in the full version of the tour. Click here to load the full tour.

Hale Telescope and Dome

Bilingual, annotated tour of the Hale Telescope and its dome, desktop version. (Palomar/Caltech/A.Mejía)

"Lite" Virtual Tour

Bilingual, annotated tour of the Hale Telescope and its dome, mobile version. (Palomar/Caltech/A.Mejía)

Questions? We've answered many common visiting, media, and academic questions in our public FAQ page.
Please share your feedback on this page at the COO Feedback portal.

Hale Media / v 1.0.4
Last updated: 5 March 2021 ACM