Observatories Campus
A Place For Exceptional Science
The Observatories environment reflects the values of an institution dedicated to enabling brilliant scientists to pursue their ideas with complete freedom. Our scientists are empowered to pursue long-term projects whose pace is dictated by the pace of discovery itself. It is this exceptional culture that has enabled the relatively small staff to make such disproportionately large contributions to astronomy.
All staff members are free to use their time as they see fit, and each uses it differently. Some develop instruments, some are involved in the affairs of the Observatories or the astronomical community, some pursue mostly their own research. Some work alone, but an increasing number are part of broad collaborative projects, both within and beyond the Observatories. Likewise, our postdoctoral fellows are encouraged to interact with the senior astronomers, but are free to follow their own paths.
Our scientists interact on a daily basis. Morning tea, held every day in the foyer of the lecture hall, attracts most staff members who are in town to talk about every conceivable subject, scientific or otherwise. Most gather again to eat lunch together in our gardens.
The Observatories are part of a large and exceptionally lively local astronomical community, which includes scientists from Caltech, JPL, and UCLA. Weekly colloquia at the Observatories and at Caltech attract many from all these institutions. We are also active in the Southern California community. There is an annual spring astronomy lecture series, annual open house every October, and outreach activities at local schools.
Our Library
Home to a large astronomy and physics-related collection used to support the ongoing research at the Observatories.
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Our Plate Collection
Our Plate Vault houses the second largest collection of astronomical glass plates in the United States, comprising more than 200,000 glass plate negatives, including spectra, direct object images, and solar plates.
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