Postcard of the Dome at the Mt. Wilson Observatory

Historic Images of the Smithsonian

Produced by Western Publishing & Novelty Co.

The postcard is numbered 8A-H3022 in the bottom right-hand corner on the front.

The postcards from Mt. Wilson belonged to Charles Greeley Abbot. He was the fifth Secretary of the Smithsonian and was an astrophysicist and solar researcher. The Mt. Wilson Observatory opened in the early 1900s, and many researchers, including those from the Smithsonian, visited the observatory to study. The observatory is funded by the Carnegie Institution for Science.

Color postcard of the dome of the 100-inch Hooker Reflector at the Mount Wilson Observatory in California. The white dome is the central focus of the postcard. The surrounding trees are full, and a man is standing on the edge of the dome structure in the middle. The front of the postcard has a white border. The postcard is unused, but the message side has a printed note about the observatory: "The Carnegie Astronomical Observatory of Washington, D.C. is located on the summit of Mount Wilson, in the Sierra Madre Mountains, 6,000 feet above sea level. Day and Night eight huge telescopes are busy probing the mysteries of the universe. The astronomical museum is open to the public daily."

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 27, Folder: Charles Greeley Abbot: Dome of the 100 Inch Hooker Reflector, Mount Wilson Observatory, California

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu