Mount WIlson Observatory, 2007.


Mount Wilson in Teenagers from Outer Space, 1957 (actually a still provided by the observatory).

Founded in 1904, the Mount Wilson Observatory was once home to the largest telescopes in the world, and continues to be an important research facility even today. The first telescope, 60-inches wide, was actually carved in France in 1896, as a present for astronomer George Ellery Hale from his father. However due to financial difficulties, groundbreaking didnít start on the observatory until 1905. Most of the sensitive equipment was built in San Francisco and shipped down. It was an enormous undertaking at the time, and the facility wasnít operational until the end of 1908.

Construction of a second major telescope was underway even as the original was being built, and that one became operation in 1917. 100 inches wide, its this telescope that Edwin Hubble used for the majority of his breakthrough research. For more than 30 years the ìJohn D. Hooker telescopeî was the largest in the world.

Role in Teenagers: The Mount Wilson Observatory is shown in the first scene of Teenagers, when a surprised astronomer catches sight of the drill-shaped spacecraft barreling towards earth. While the faÁade of the Hooker telescope is shown as the exterior of where the astronomers are performing research, it is in reality the older 60 inch telescope that the scientists are looking through, as that telescope has been open to the public for decades.

<< back to LOCATIONS