Above:
(courtesy Kay Meyer) This view is toward the South, from near the SRO dome. To the left
of the large pine tree, along the top of the
distant ridge (6 miles),
is the antenna farm that delivers radio and television signals
to Los Angeles which lies beyond the ridge. Farther to left of the antennas is the 150-foot
Solar Tower and the 100-inch dome of the Mt. Wilson Observatory.
When Stony Ridge was being built, a leveled transit bisected
the dome of the 100-inch telescope, indicating that SRO was
at the same elevation as Mt. Wilson, 5675 feet (1730 meters).
Beyond that ridge at night, lurks a vast ocean of
light from the Los Angeles basin. Fortunate for SRO there are
times when LA is blanketed by a marine-layer
of fog that can
completely block out the light pollution.
Standing at this spot (above) in a grove of Coulter Pines, before the fire, the viewer turns around 180 degrees toward the SRO dome to observe the devastation, after the fire (image right). Note the scoarching on the out building wall - thanks to firefighters using air-attack methods, this was the ONLY damaged to any structures at SRO. -------------------->
Guests from an area astronomy club (above) chat with SRO members Pam Sable and Dave Hadlen (both standing) in June, 2009. Three months later that same area around our metal picnic table became completely devoid of vegetation due to the fire (right).----------->
More
images of the Stony Ridge Site.
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Above:
(courtesy John Rogers) This image is practically the same view as the
photo on the left, only this one was taken 3 weeks after the Station Fire swept through the forest. Smoldering trees
and bushes abound everywhere, inluding on the north slopes of
Mt. Wilson, six miles away, and (shown below) a still-burning stump less than one mile away from SRO.
Below: Where the photographer stood for this post-Station Fire picture pointing east, the ridge visible on the other side of Devil's Canyon was not visible through the trees and vegetation before the fire.
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