According to news reports, the Mount Wilson Observatory, together with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), were saved from damage during the terrible fires of January 2025, despite the Eaton Fire reaching the edge of the Observatory’s grounds on January 9. The observatory, which housed the largest-aperture telescope in the world (100-inch Hooker) from 1917 until 1948 and was the location where Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe was expanding, remains in use for solar research as well as being a key focus for public outreach.
About Mount Wilson Observatory on this portal:
Photo: Aerial view of the Mount Wilson Observatory. In the lower-left are the 150ft and 60ft solar tower telescopes; in front is the horizontal Snow solar telescope. The domes of the 60-in and the 100-in Hooker telescope are visible behind. Photograph © Norm Vargas