Palomar Observatory Virtual Tour

Thanks to the technology of spherical (360°) panoramic imagery, we are able to offer a bilingual, high-resolution, virtual reality (VR)-enabled tour of over a dozen locations within Palomar Observatory including the three main telescopes, the Visitor Center, and selected areas around the domes including several inaccessible to the public.

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.

Below are several entry points to the virtual tour. Once inside, it is possible to navigate to any of the locations via the drop down menu on the top left without exiting the tour. To look around, drag (click and move while holding) the cursor across the image. Alternatively, click inside the tour window and use your keyboard arrows to move in small steps. Icons superimposed on the panoramic images allow for navigation to other locations as well as bring up more information, images, and videos. The language switch is on the top right. Further instructions and FAQ may be found in the help page brought up by clicking the icon in the control bar.

Visitor Center

To the Visitor Center. (Palomar/Caltech/A.Mejía)

Hale Dome

To the Hale Dome. (Palomar/Caltech/A.Mejía)

Oschin Dome

To the Oschin Dome. (Palomar/Caltech/A.Mejía)

Mayer Dome

To the Mayer Dome. (Palomar/Caltech/A.Mejía)

"Lite" Virtual Tour