Palomar Observatory Guided Tours

In 2024, the guided tours will be offered on weekends starting Saturday April 6 until Sunday October 27.

Public guided tours of the 200-inch (5.1-meter) Hale Telescope are available to visitors on the weekends (Saturday and Sunday) spring through fall—typically from the first Saturday in April to the last Sunday in October.

The tours are roughly one hour long, and limited-availability tickets (sold exclusively on a day-of and first-come, first served basis) are required. Please plan accordingly.

Time and Location

Public tour start times are 10:30 am, 12:30 pm, and 2:00 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Please follow the signs from the Visitor Center to the tour meeting point. Tours start on the northwest side of the Hale Telescope dome (immediately to the left of the large service doors as viewed facing the dome from the west). To ensure you make your tour (and in consideration of others) please be on time.

Tickets

Public tour tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis and are sold in the Gift and Book Store (Greenway Visitor Center) the day of the tour. We cannot offer online or advance ticket sales. The store opens at 9:15 am and tickets go on sale for all tours that day at that time. We accept only electronic payments—Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay—no cash transactions.

Tickets are $5.00 per person, $3.00 for children (ages 5 through 12) and seniors (age 65 and over), maximum 6 tickets per customer. Tour presentations are unsuitable for children under 5 years of age, hence our minimum age requirement.

Please note that tours may be cancelled due to observatory operations or available staffing. Check this page for updates.

Caltech considers educational outreach to be a major part of its strategic mission. For this reason, Palomar Observatory offers tours at no charge to educational groups at the college and high school levels. These tours may be scheduled on weekdays or on weekends before the regular public tours. Please be aware, however, for reasons related to the operations of the observatory, there are only a few times during the week when these tours can take place. Tour priority, therefore, is given to educational, youth, non-profit, and traditionally disadvantaged or under represented groups.

For more information, contact Steve Flanders at sbf [at] astro.caltech.edu. These tours are typically an hour in duration. Group tours are for groups up to 30 people and are by reservation only.

The Visitors Gallery is an enclosed space within the dome with a clear view of the Hale Telescope. Any group can request a presentation by one of the observatory docents. We are able to conduct these presentations whenever the observatory grounds are open. With time for questions and discussion, these presentations describe the history, operations and science of Palomar Observatory. Often we have opportunities to discuss a range of topics in astronomy. These events may last as long as the audience wishes and for this reason we recommend Gallery presentations for children of grade school age. Because there is sitting available, groups of seniors may prefer this option.

For more information, contact Steve Flanders at sbf [at] astro.caltech.edu. As with the educational tours, Gallery presentations may be scheduled at any time during the year.

• There is no viewing through the Hale Telescope as a part of the tours.
• As noted above, children under 5 years of age are not admitted to our guided tours.
• We cannot accommodate pets on tours of the Hale Telescope. However, guests with service dogs are welcome.
• We regret that we cannot accommodate wheelchair access to the Hale Telescope dome as part the tours. For more information, please see our Visiting Palomar page.
• Please note that the interior of the Hale Telescope dome is kept at nighttime temperatures for an elevation of 5,598 feet/1,702 meters. Temperatures inside the dome are often in the 30s and 40s °F (0–10 °C) from October through May. Dress accordingly. High-heeled shoes are not recommended for the tours.
• Please keep in mind that Palomar Observatory is a research facility.