Mount Wilson Observatory, The Carnegie Institution of Washington

Set of four annual reports by the Carnegie Insitution of Washington. The reports describe very well the evolution of the Mount Wilson Observatory.

Mount Wilson Solar Observatory was founded in 1904 by George Ellery Hale under the auspices of the Carnegie Institution of Washington (the word "Solar" was dropped from the name in 1919 soon after the completion of the 100-inch telescope).

Funds to publish the Atlas of Selected Regions of the Milky Way by Barnard had been guaranteed by the Carnegie Institution in 1907. It was finally published by the Carnegie Institution in 1927 as a Carnegie Publication number 247.

The Atlas is the magnum opus of Barnard. The photographs in this Atlas remain a valuable data source for studies of the Milky Way, its star clouds, the numerous open clusters, and especially for the dark regions of the Barnard dark clouds, first made manifest in these photographs. The dark clouds proved to be singularly important in the discovery of dark matter between the stars, rather than voids in the heavens. Barnard was the first astronomer to provide this decisive evidence for their existence from these photographs.

Photo ID: 5662