Contact(s):
Ann Erdman
(626) 375-2742

COSMIC COCKTAIL HOUR AUGUST 18: CARNEGIE OBSERVATORIES' HALE LIBRARY AND ASTRONOMICALGLASS PLATES ARCHIVE

The Carnegie Observatories' Astronomical Plate Archive is the second largest in the U.S. and includes some of the most important observations in astronomy in the past 100 years. These images sparked Edwin Hubble's realization of the expanding universe, led George Ellery Hale to discover the sun's magnetic field and provided the basis for theories of how stars and galaxies form.

For the monthly Cosmic Cocktail Hour Wednesday, Aug. 18, at 4 p.m. via Zoom, Kit Whitten, librarian and archivist at the Hale Library, will show and explain images from the library's Astronomical Plate Archive of more than 200,000 photographic glass plate negatives created between 1892 and the early 1990s using telescopes at Mount Wilson, Palomar, Las Campanas and Kenwood observatories. The archives also include a collection of photographic prints of deep space, historical photographs of the Carnegie Observatories, including Las Campanas and Kenwood, and engineering drawings and blueprints of Carnegie Observatory telescopes.

Whitten also will provide an overview of the library's large astronomy collections of books, periodicals, sky charts, films and more.

Presented by the Pasadena Senior Center, the cost for Cosmic Cocktail Hour is only $7 for members and $10 for nonmembers 50 and older. Residency in Pasadena is not required.

"The photographic plate collection is intended for scientific research solely by accredited professional astronomers from around the world," said Annie Laskey, director of special events at the Pasadena Senior Center. "This Zoom event will be a very rare opportunity for the public to see some of the images and learn more about them."

To register, visit www.pasadenaseniorcenter.org and click on Events, Clubs and Lectures, then Online Events or call 626-795-4331. Everyone who registers will receive an email link to access the Zoom event.

Then pour your favorite beverage, sit back and enjoy the astronomical trip.

In addition to online classes, onsite events and other activities, members and nonmembers of the Pasadena Senior Center are encouraged to visit the website regularly for COVID-19 updates for older adults and other timely information, a weekly blog, monthly magazine, ongoing activities throughout the year and more.

The center, at 85 E. Holly St., is an independent, donor-supported nonprofit organization that has served older adults for more than 60 years. During the pandemic, doors are open Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for social services and other critical services for older adults in need as well as limited occupancy for events, the library, fitness center and computer lab. Masks and social distancing are required. All who enter are subject to temperature screening, must sanitize their hands upon entry and answer a simple screening questionnaire. Rooms are sanitized after each use.

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Photo caption: The Great Nebula of Orion photographed by astronomer George Ellis Ritchey from the Ritchie 60-inch Telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory in 1908, the most spectacular view of the nebula anyone had ever seen.

Photo credit: Carnegie Observatories