Stony Ridge Observatory was designed and built, and continues to be operated by, amateur astronomers. Its mission of shared access to the heavens has served its members, science investigators, students and the public (through planned outreach programs) since its completion in 1963.
The observatory is perched on a ridge 2000 feet above the floor of Devil’s Canyon, about 6 miles (9.7 km) north by north-east of the legendary facility at Mt. Wilson. Stony Ridge is situated on a favorable site quite near Horse Flats, a location once considered for George Ellery Hale’s 200-inch (5-m) telescope but for which Mount Palomar was ultimately chosen. (This is briefly discussed on page 432 of a 1928 paper.)
After a 45-minute drive along the Angeles Crest Highway north of Pasadena, California, you will arrive a place that took its Founders “months to find and six years to reach.” There, in the heart of the National Forest, you will see a living monument to unassuming men of exceptional will who dared to Think Big, then commit to doing all that such vision required. Here, on these pages, their journey and that ongoing story, is told.
Welcome to Stony Ridge Observatory!
This cadre of talented craftsman and path finders pooled their expertise and resources to construct perhaps the largest telescope in the United States not funded and administered by a university or research institution.
Details about how they accomplished it and the contributions that each man made to the project are documented on the History page of this site. It was a Herculean task comprised of ingenuity, laborious effort, and a fortitude that would not be defeated.
This cadre of talented craftsman and path finders pooled their expertise and resources to construct perhaps the largest telescope in the United States not funded and administered by a university or research institution.
Details about how they accomplished it and the contributions that each man made to the project are documented on the History page of this site. It was a Herculean task comprised of ingenuity, laborious effort, and a fortitude that would not be defeated.
SRO’s résumé is both varied and solidly built. Our astronomers have made published contributions in astronomical research, directly supported the nation’s space program, facilitated graduate education coursework, and conducted public outreach, activites that commenced with “First Light” in 1963.
Continuing such achievement has only been possible through the dedication of succeeding generations of owner – volunteers who have met the challenges of: upgrades to once-aging electronics, an encroaching light pollution, the damage and disruption of random wildfires, and other aspects of “nature being nature.” In so doing they have devoted themselves to honoring the Founders’ legacy, carrying forth a baton passed to them – in the tubular form of an extraordinary telescope – year to year, now for over six decades.
Stony Ridge remains a destination for the science of astronomy or for filling the eyes and the soul with the beauty and majesty of objects brought into focus by the 30 inch (.76m) reflecting telescope that never ceases to amaze and satisfy. From the historic and lofty range chosen for its tranquility and accessibility, a night at SRO will create lifelong memories for all who come to the mountain.