For nearly 30 years, the Hale Telescope was the largest telescope in the world.

The 200-inch telescope, ultimately surpassed by the Keck 1 in Hawaii, captured its first photo, also known in astronomy as its “first-light.” This great feat was greeted with immense enthusiasm and curiosity.

Not only was it 20 years in the making, but the Hale Telescope also captured the imaginations and spirit of the country. George Ellery Hale came up with the idea of a 200-inch telescope. When news of his grant from the Rockefeller Foundation was announced, the New York Times headlined, “Giant Telescope of Immense Range to Dwarf All Others.” The single immense mirror called, “The Giant Eye,” was poured at the Corning Glass Works in New York and carried by train, mobbed by massive crowds, across the country. But it would sit in Pasadena for 13 years before making the trek up to the top of Palomar Mountain. War would put a pause on astronomical aspirations. Astronomer Edwin Hubble first guided the telescope to its “first-light” image of Hubble’s Variable Nebula. Hale would not live to see his dream realized.

Changing how we see the depths of space, and still used each clear night, images from Palomar have even made it to the bridge of Star Trek’s USS Enterprise. A 1966 episode displayed photos of the Ring Nebula and the Andromeda Galaxy.