When night falls, you can stand almost anywhere in the San Gabriel Valley, look to the north at Mt. Wilson in the distance, and see the glowing lights of TV and radio antennae spiking into the darkness.

But that’s not all that’s up there.

Among the pine trees and coyotes, high above the humdrum, terra firma existence of Los Angeles mortals, sits the Mt. Wilson Observatory.

For over a century, it’s been a gateway to the heavens.

The twin, chalk-white domes atop the ridge are home to two aging but still mighty telescopes. The 60- and 100-inch machines are arguably the most important in the history of astronomy.
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Superstars of astro science like Edwin Hubble, George Ellery Hale and Albert Einstein have looked through them.

And you can, too.

In fact, anyone can rent the scopes for the whole night. The rental includes an astronomer to guide your trip through the astonishing wonders of the dark and endless firmament. And snacks.

The 100-ton dome wails like a metallic banshee as it slowly turns to accommodate the view of the 60-inch telescope, a move it’s been making since things began here so long ago.

“In 1908, it was the largest telescope in the world,” said telescope operator Tom Mason. He’s one of a devoted cadre of amateur astronomers and retired engineers who keep things going atop Mt. Wilson. He’s been volunteering at the observatory for 17 years.

A man wearing glasses sits on a chair in front of a desk and several computer screens. He looks at the camera. — Tom Mason has been guiding visitors through the heavens for 17 years. (Peter Gilstrap)

“It was the first telescope placed on a mountain this size,” he continued. “It was the first real enactment of the mirror-reflecting-type telescope. So you have a lot of history here.”

In the early part of the 20th century, conventional wisdom held that refracting telescopes were the only professional-grade instruments. Mt. Wilson’s mirror-based, reflecting technology proved that notion untrue, setting a new industry standard.

The telescope is a sight to behold. It’s an industrial latticework of tubular steel angled toward a crack in the dome like a cannon. It’s about the size of a crouching Tyrannosaurus rex. It’s painted baby blue.

The tube got here 113 years ago on the back of a truck that barely made it up the winding dirt road from Pasadena.

Albert Einstein wears a suit and stands on the steps leading to the Observatory — Albert Einstein at the Mt. Wilson Observatory in 1931 on one of his many research visits. (Peter Gilstrap)

The unbelievably delicate, 60-inch mirror that’s the reflecting heart of the scope arrived by a team of pack mules.

Since the machine opened its enormous eye on the skies, it’s lived to become the grandparent of virtually every modern scope in existence.

And while Los Angeles constantly grows and mutates upon itself, demolishing and building, again and again, year after year, on Mt. Wilson, things barely change.

“Now, do we have the technology to hook this up to a computer and guide it?” asks Mason. “Yes. But Mt. Wilson is not willing to trust it to a computer and that’s why we still operate it by hand.”

They don’t trust it to a computer. It’s a notion that’s absolutely breathtaking in this day and age. The observatory operates on a DC power system that’s been refurbished over the years.

The operator’s desk is a simple control center that features buttons. Buttons you press to make things move. That’s it.

And don’t even think about cell reception up here.

That means you can look down the scope’s eyepiece at an ancient, long-dead star still beaming its ghost light toward Earth, but you can’t text anyone about it.

A large metallic building wit a dome on top of the ceiling in a green, rural setting. — The home of the 60-inch telescope atop Mt. Wilson, one of the most historic scopes on the planet. (Peter Gilstrap)

This little dust spot, Earth

Many celestial mysteries were solved at the observatory.

Scientist Harlow Shapley worked at Mt. Wilson from 1914 to 1921. He used the telescopes to determine the size of the Milky Way galaxy. Yes, the size of the galaxy. This guy you’ve never heard of did that.

[pullquote align="right" size="medium" citation="Tom Mason, telescope operator"]'So as big as it is out there, and everything that's out there, you just keep going.'[/pullquote]He also found that Earth was not the center of that galaxy.

“So what did that do? That moved us out here off one of the arms of the galaxy,” said Mason. “Great discovery right here with the 60-inch telescope.”

And a blow to the ego of those who thought Earth was king of the hill.

“Well, our ego's been blown a couple of times up here, 'cause we thought we were the only galaxy, and then Edwin Hubble came along and discovered that, yes, there is another galaxy out there. And now we're in the billions-of-galaxies type thing,” said Mason.

It’s enough to make a person feel a bit tiny.

“Yes, it does,” Mason said. “Because of how big this is, but also as a Christian, it also brings my attention to something. The Scripture says, ‘Oh, Lord, oh, Lord, what is man that you are mindful of him, compared to this great universe you made?'

"So as big as it is out there, and everything that's out there, you just keep going and keep going and keep going, and we keep learning about it. And [there’s] this little dust spot, the Earth, and then I'm a dust spot on that Earth. And He's mindful of me. That's also exciting.”

[aside label ='Related Stories' tag='science']Mason is a member of Christ Community Church in West Covina. Tonight some of his fellow church members are renting the telescope.

Vicki Heim is part of the congregation. When it comes to her favorite heavenly sighting, she doesn’t hesitate.

“Oh, I just love Saturn. That’s my favorite," she said.

For Heim, the God-versus-science question is a nonissue. “To me, it just couldn’t be anything else but God’s creation," she said. "Just no possibility.”

And that includes the telescope? Heim glances at the contraption peeping at the heavens. “Yeah," she said, laughing. "Yeah.”

A sanctuary of science

For the 60-inch scope, your rental tab is $1,050 for a half-night and $1,700 for the entire night. Plus, you get coffee, cold cuts and brownies to go with the quasars, nebulas and white dwarfs.

So, how did this sanctuary of science become a fun night out for anyone with a credit card? Just too much light. Astronomy loves the darkness.

By the late 1990s, Los Angeles had become ground zero for light pollution. As scientific research was moving from Mt. Wilson to low-wattage places like Chile, the decision was made to open the facility to the public.

This rare opportunity has drawn all kinds of people up the mountain. Some come to marvel, and — though there’s a strict no-booze policy — others come to party.

“As a matter of fact, in the other dome tonight, there’s even a birthday party going on,” said Mason. “We’ve had engagements here, we’ve even had a wedding party that stopped by after the wedding before they started their honeymoon. Now, they didn’t stay too long, but that’s up to them.”

A "divine order to things"

Sunshine Daye came from Long Beach with an open mind and no real idea of what she would experience. She’s not part of the church group. A friend gave her a ticket.

As she stepped away from gazing through the telescope, she looked stunned — even with her mask on.

A person stands in front of a very large telescope and holds their face mask in their hands. — Like Albert Einstein before her, Sunshine Daye traveled up Mt. Wilson to gaze through the scope. (Peter Gilstrap)

“Wow. I’m looking at what appears to be like dots, but they’re actually the planets, and as I fine-tune the eyepiece, I can actually see how different the two planets are. It’s amazing to be able to see that far," she said.

So, looking through this mountaintop window into the distant reaches of space, what does she think about?

“I think about what’s happening out there in the sky is actually happening inside of me. Like all my cells and capillaries, my organs, how things are just kind of orbiting and rotating, how my lungs fill with air. There’s just like this divine order to things,” said Daye.

“Those are things I get to think about when I come to places like this. Having it to rent out and to be able to come and see this is absolutely awesome.”

This story was originally broadcast on KCRW's Greater LA.
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