Table Mountain Observatory
Astronomy facility in Big Pines, California
title: "Table Mountain Observatory" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["astronomical-observatories-in-california", "angeles-national-forest", "san-gabriel-mountains", "buildings-and-structures-in-san-bernardino-county,-california", "california-institute-of-technology-buildings-and-structures", "jet-propulsion-laboratory", "minor-planet-discovering-observatories", "nasa-facilities", "natural-history-of-san-bernardino-county,-california", "wrightwood,-california", "1924-establishments-in-california"] description: "Astronomy facility in Big Pines, California" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_Mountain_Observatory" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Astronomy facility in Big Pines, California ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox Observatory"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Table Mountain Observatory |
| image | [[File:Table Mountain Observatory 2.jpg |
| caption | Aerial view of Table Mountain Observatory |
| organization | NASAJPL |
| code | 673 |
| location | Big Pines, California, U.S. |
| coords | |
| altitude | 2286 m |
| established | |
| website | |
| telescope1_name | Pomona College Telescope |
| telescope1_type | 1.0 m reflector |
| telescope2_name | unnamed telescope |
| telescope2_type | 0.6 m reflector |
| :: |
|name = Table Mountain Observatory |image = [[File:Table Mountain Observatory 2.jpg|250px]] |caption = Aerial view of Table Mountain Observatory |organization = NASAJPL |code = 673 |location = Big Pines, California, U.S. |coords = |altitude = 2286 m |weather = |established = |website = |telescope1_name = Pomona College Telescope |telescope1_type = 1.0 m reflector |telescope2_name = unnamed telescope |telescope2_type = 0.6 m reflector |telescope3_name = |telescope3_type = Table Mountain Observatory (TMO) is an astronomical observation facility operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (California Institute of Technology). It is located in Big Pines, California, in the Angeles National Forest near Wrightwood, north-northeast of Los Angeles, California.
TMO is part of JPL's Table Mountain Facility (TMF). The larger site hosts a number of non-astronomical projects. The site was first used by the Smithsonian Institution in 1924, which conducted atmospheric, solar, and astronomical observations for many years. JPL took over the lease in 1962. The observatory conducts high-precision astrometric observations to support NASA and international spacecraft mission navigation, confirmation and recovery of near-Earth objects such as comets and asteroids that may potentially impact the Earth, and technology development.
The main-belt asteroid 84882 Table Mountain was named in honor of the observatory.
List of discovered minor planets
More than 260 minor planets were discovered at TMO, often referred to as "Wrightwood" the Minor Planet Center and credited to several astronomers, most notably to James Young, but also to other astronomers such as Jack B. Child, Greg Fisch, A. Grigsby, D. Mayes, and Mallory Vale. The MPC also directly credits TMO with the discovery of one numbered main-belt asteroid (see table).
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Instruments
Two telescopes operate at TMO:
- The 1.02 m Pomona College Telescope is a Cassegrain reflector built at Pomona College. It first became operational in 1985, and had new mirrors installed in 1996.
- A 0.6 m Ritchey-Chrétien reflector built by Astro Mechanics was installed in 1966. It is attached to an off-axis German equatorial mount.
::data[format=table title="[[Minor planet]]s discovered: 1"]
| ''see {{section link | List of discovered minor planets}}'' |
|---|---|
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Former instruments
Former instruments at TMO include:
- A 1.25 m reflector previously located at Cloudcroft Observatory was acquired in the late 1980s and became operational in the early 1990s. It was removed from the TMO web site before June 2003.
- A 0.4 m Ritchey-Chrétien reflector built by RC Optical Systems was attached to an equatorial mount. It was installed in 2003 and removed from the TMO web site before July 2011. It was housed in the dome where the Schmidt camera was previously located.
- A 0.4 m Cassegrain reflector was installed at TMO in 1962. Harvey Mudd College was the main user of this telescope from the 1970s through at least 1991.
- A 0.6 m Cassegrain reflector was installed at TMO in 1966.
- A 0.27 m Schmidt camera owned by JPL operated at TMO from 1985 until at least 1991.
- A 5.5 m millimeter wavelength radio antenna was located at TMO from 1970 until at least 1985.
- A radio interferometer with dishes of 4.4 m and 3.0 m became operational at TMO in 1974. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Table_Mountain_Observatory_control_room1.jpg" caption="Observing with the 0.6m telescope"] ::
Honours
The main-belt asteroid 84882 Table Mountain, discovered by James Whitney Young at TMO in 2003, was named in honor of the observatory. Naming citation was published on 28 October 2004 (M.P.C. 52955).
References
- Table Mountain Observatory at the Pomona College astronomy department
- Photographic history of Table Mountain Observatory
References
- "Table Mountain Observatory: Home". [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]].
- "Table Mountain Observatory: Programs". Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
- (Spring 2009). "The Early History of Photometric Observations of Asteroids made at the Table Mountain Observatory". The Society for Astronomical Sciences 28th Annual Symposium on Telescope Science. Held May 19–21.
- "Table Mountain Observatory: Telescopes". Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
- "Projects at TMF". Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
- "Telescope specs {{!}} Pomona College Astronomy Program". Pomona College Astronomy Program.
- "Table Mountain Observatory: Telescopes". Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
- "Table Mountain Observatory: Telescopes". Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
- Young, James W.. (2009-12-17). "The Table Mountain Facility - 3: 1965 - 1986".
- (1992). "California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Table Mountain Observatory, Wrightwood, California 92397. Report for the period Jul 1990 - Jul 1991". Bulletin of the Astronomical Society.
- Young, James W.. (2009-12-17). "The Table Mountain Facility - 4: 1986 - 1998".
- "Jet Propulsion Laboratory 1973-1974 Annual Report". Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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