Thursday, June 26, 2008

Remembering a big day for Public Outreach

Yesterday, marked the three year anniversary of the 2005 Palomar Observatory Open House. By some estimates we gave tours of the 200-inch Hale Telescope to more than 4,000 people - all in one day. As you can see in the photo above (taken by Caltech's Robert J. Paz) the line to get in reached epic proportions. It was heart warming to see so many people show up to visit Palomar.

At the open house we kicked off our Friends of Palomar Observatory program where members now get inside tours, talks by astronomers and some evening viewing programs (sorry, not through the 200-inch telescope).

If you want a tour of the Hale but missed the Open House of '05 and are not a member of the Friends of Palomar Observatory - don't despair. We give tours for the general public on most Saturdays (May - October) at 11:30 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. For a small fee ($5 for adults) you can get an hour or more guided tour of the Big Eye. Space is limited and the tours almost always sell out. More information on the Public Tours is here.

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