bpnjensen wrote:
On Jun 12, 1:49 pm, wrote:
bpnjensen wrote:
On Jun 12, 5:08 am, wrote:

As Wilson is primarily a solar observatory these days, I doubt the gas
mixture in the street lamps is very important. I am 18 miles NNW of
Wilson at 1,790', and I can see the Milky Way from my back yard.

That's why it's primarily a solar observatory - the LP from LA has
rendered it useless for dark sky astro. 18 miles can make a big
difference...but it takes a REALLY dark sky for the Milky Way to throw
shadows...

As I recall from some hideous PBS in a hotel room, the 100" [?] was too
tiny for anything else, according to the guy who built the 200" on
Palomar. I'm way too busy to look it up.

Well, that's funny - up here at Lick, the 120" still does amazing
science. In fact, amateurs with scopes far smaller contribute immense
knowledge every year. I think the interviewee was suffering from
aperture envy.

"Hale suffered from neurological and psychological problems, including
insomnia, frequent headaches, and schizophrenia, claiming to have
regular visits from an elf who advised him on his work..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Ellery_Hale