What to Know
- Mt. Wilson Observatory, an astronomy landmark, presents a number of special annual events when the weather grows warmer
- The 2023 season begins with a behind-the-scenes engineering tour on May 7
- Concerts on select Sunday afternoons, opportunities to gaze through the celebrated 60-inch telescope, and more treats await
Just when you think the universe is a pretty big place, like really big, like the sort of endless expanse that recedes into the far, far corners of what you can possibly imagine, you realize it is even so, so, so much bigger.
We'd type "so" several more times to drive that point home, but we're sure you're with us.
It's not difficult to draw a line from this topic to the pleasurable subject of Mount Wilson Observatory, and all of the fabulous events the landmark offers when the weather grows warmer.
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We could refer to this as the observatory's "summer schedule," but, like the universe that Mount Wilson's famous telescopes observe, the warm-weather lineup is even bigger than we can imagine.
Look to the 2023 offerings, which actually begin in springtime and wrap up in the heart of fall, just days before Halloween.
So while we might think of this roster as specifically a summer thing, it goes well beyond the borders of the easiest season.
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And because everything is starting soon, you can bet the 2023 schedule is now live. And tickets? Those are happening, too, so you'll want to book yours, especially for the sure-to-fill-up events like the popular Sunday afternoon concerts in the dome.
That's quite the acoustically rich treat, being inside an enormous dome adjacent to an enormous telescope. There are great concert halls in the world, but only a few can spot nebulae that are hundreds of light-years away.
Other mountain-high goodies include a behind-the-scenes engineering tour, Talks & Telescopes (which boast "convivial stargazing" through the observatory's dynamic duo of celebrated scopes, two world-famous marvels), and a Public Ticket Night on June 10.
That evening is about "intimate" observing, with the 100-inch telescope in the spotlight.
In short? This long-winded paean to the astronomical icon's uplifting warm-weather schedule comes from a place of admiration.
We're agog that this universe-watching wonder sits atop a peak near Los Angeles, as it has for decades, and we can go up, up, up to commune with the cosmos, and live music, and all sorts of big ideas, each and every year.
Thanks Mt. Wilson: When we see your dome it just feels like home.
