[photo credit: Mount Wilson Observatory]
Members of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society, a nonprofit that grew out of a club of amateur telescope makers founded in 1926, will set up their own telescopes in the upper parking lot of Mount Wilson Observatory from 7:00 p.m. Friday, August 7, until 1:00 a.m. Saturday. Admission is free and no reservation is required. The evening does not include the observatory’s 60-inch and 100-inch telescopes; the grounds will be closed, and star-party visitors will be allowed only in the upper lot, the lower lot and the cafe area, the observatory said.
Mount Wilson Institute, the nonprofit that operates the observatory under agreements with the Carnegie Institution of Washington and the U.S. Forest Service, gives its address as 75 South Grand Avenue in Pasadena. The peak rises above Pasadena and Altadena in the San Gabriel Mountains.
The star party is a fundraiser supporting outreach by both organizations, and donations are accepted at the front gate, the observatory said. Visitors are asked to bring red flashlights, to leave dogs at home and to bring children. Alcohol is not permitted. The observatory said the event is accessible to visitors with disabilities, who are asked to notify the parking lot attendant on arrival, and it advises those with heart or respiratory conditions to use caution at the 5,700-foot elevation.
Getting there takes more planning than most free events in the area. Access is by the Angeles Crest Highway, California Highway 2, from the 210 Freeway at La Cañada Flintridge, and the observatory warns that phone navigation apps often give incorrect routes. Because the site sits on Forest Service land, parking requires a U.S. Forest Service Adventure Pass — $5 for a day, $30 for a year. The observatory sells them at its Cosmic Cafe, which is open only on weekends, so Friday visitors will need to buy one before heading up.
Two very different evenings will share the mountain. The observatory has also scheduled Public Ticket Nights on August 7 for the 60-inch and 100-inch telescopes, and both are sold out. A ticket is what buys a look through the instrument the observatory says Edwin Hubble used to prove that other galaxies exist and the universe is expanding.
Star parties here are occasional rather than annual. The observatory and the society held one on July 11 and have three more scheduled this year, on September 4, October 3 and November 7. The Perseid meteor shower peaks the night of August 12 into August 13, according to NASA.
The ground the parking lot sits on nearly burned 19 months ago. The Eaton Fire, which began in Eaton Canyon on January 7, 2025 and burned into Altadena, reached the edge of the observatory’s grounds on January 9, according to the journal Science. Gail Schaefer, director of the CHARA Array at the observatory, told Science that when staff tried to drive down that morning, “the fire had gotten a lot closer than they realized.”
Federal crews prepared a strategic firing operation to create a buffer along the mountain’s southern edge. “We did a little bit of defensive firing, but it was a very light amount,” said Brad Rafeedy, a Klamath National Forest fire management officer who served as a branch trainee on the Mount Wilson portion of the fire, in an account published by the U.S. Forest Service. The agency reported that the fire damaged none of the infrastructure on the mountain.
Mount Wilson Institute can be reached at 626-214-8030 or info@mtwilson.edu, and the Los Angeles Astronomical Society at (213) 673-7355 or communications@laas.org.
The fire climbed to the edge of these grounds and stopped. On Friday the lot fills again, and the telescopes point the other way — up.
NEED TO KNOW
The Los Angeles Astronomical Society Star Party takes place Friday, August 7, 2026, from 7:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. Saturday, August 8, at Mount Wilson Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains above Pasadena and Altadena. Admission is free and no reservation is required; donations are accepted at the front gate. Viewing is held in the observatory’s upper parking lot, and star-party visitors are limited to the upper lot, the lower lot and the cafe area. Drivers reach the observatory by the Angeles Crest Highway, California Highway 2, from the 210 Freeway at La Cañada Flintridge, and the observatory warns that phone navigation apps often give incorrect routes. Parking is in the observatory lots and requires a U.S. Forest Service Adventure Pass, which costs $5 for a day pass or $30 for an annual pass; the observatory sells them at its Cosmic Cafe, which is open only on weekends, so Friday visitors should buy one before driving up. Visitors are asked to bring red flashlights for the dark areas around the telescopes, to leave dogs at home and to bring children; alcohol is not permitted. The event is accessible to visitors with disabilities, who are asked to notify the parking lot attendant on arrival, and the observatory advises visitors with heart or respiratory conditions to use caution at the 5,700-foot elevation. For more, call 626-214-8030 or visit www.mtwilson.edu/events/starparty080726/.
