The Journey to Palomar

The Journey to Palomar, the result of more than five years’ work by Los Angeles filmmakers Todd and Robin Mason, traces Hale’s remarkable life as he struggles both personally and professionally to build the great telescopes at the Yerkes Observatory (near Chicago), the Mount Wilson Observatory (above Los Angeles), and finally the million-pound telescope on Palomar Mountain (near San Diego), considered the “moon shot” of the 1930s and ‘40s. It was a struggle to invent the technology, so daunting that many said it couldn't be done. Again and again, Hale embarked on a seemingly impossible quest to persuade the richest men in America to contribute to his vision of American astronomy.