The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science
For more than a century, astronomers of the Carnegie Observatories have pioneered major advances in telescope construction, astronomy and astrophysics. Headquartered in Pasadena, California, this group of about 70 scientific, support and technical staff continue to tackle some of the most intriguing and important questions about distant galaxies, black holes, dark energy, dark matter, exosolar planets and the distant origins of the universe. They conduct their scientific investigations under the umbrella of the Carnegie Institution for Science, founded by industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1902 to advance human understanding of the natural world.
The Carnegie Observatories have played a leading role in the design and construction of the large optical telescopes critical to the major scientific breakthroughs of the past century. This tradition continues with the ambitious Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) project. Observatories Director Wendy Freedman chairs the board of the GMT consortium and provides important leadership for the group.
The Carnegie Observatories were launched in 1904 when George Ellery Hale, seeking clearer skies than existed near his native Chicago, obtained support from the newly formed Carnegie Institution of Washington to found the Mount Wilson Solar Observatory in the mountains near Pasadena. Hale built both the 60” and 100” telescopes on Mount Wilson, each the largest in the world at the time of their completion. It was with these instruments that Carnegie astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered and first described the expanding universe.
In 1969, the focus of Carnegie observations moved to the Las Campanas Observatory, set high in the southern reaches of Chile's Atacama Desert. At an altitude of 2,400 meters, in a region of dark, clear skies and excellent seeing that is unsurpassed by any site on Earth, reside the Carnegie Observatories’ telescopes. The principal telescopes at Las Campanas are the Swope 1-meter telescope, the du Pont 2.5-meter telescope, and the twin 6.5-meter Magellan Telescopes. Carnegie operates the Magellan Telescopes for a consortium whose other members are Harvard, MIT, and the Universities of Arizona and Michigan. The twin 6.5-meter Magellan telescopes are widely considered to be the best natural imaging telescopes in the world.
The Carnegie Institution for Science reflects the values set forth by Andrew Carnegie: An institution dedicated to enabling exceptional scientists to pursue their ideas with complete freedom.
