Snow Solar Telescope
Snow telescope housing with the coelostat mirror exposed to the sky (1912) | |
| Named after | George W. Snow |
|---|---|
| Part of | Mount Wilson Observatory |
| Location(s) | Mt. Wilson, California |
| Coordinates | 34°13′26″N 118°3′40″W / 34.22389°N 118.06111°W |
| Altitude | 1,794 m |
| Built | 1904 |
| First light | March 15, 1905 |
| Telescope style | Coelostat |
| Diameter | 30 in (76 cm) |
| Website | https://www.mtwilson.edu/vt-snow-solar-telescope/ |
The Snow Solar Telescope is a solar telescope at the Mount Wilson Observatory in California. It was originally named the Snow Horizontal Telescope as it uses a coelostat to deflect light from the Sun into a fixed horizontal shed where it can be studied. The telescope was funded by a donation from Helen E. Snow of Chicago in 1903. It was assembled at Yerkes Observatory then transferred to Mt. Wilson in 1905.
This telescope is notable for the discovery that sunspots have a lower temperature than the photosphere, and for finding evidence they are associated with a magnetic field.