Watch PBS Documentaries online: Episode 2 The Journey To Palomar

America's first journey into space It has been said that George Ellery Hale did for the entire universe what Christopher Columbus did only for the Earth. Most people have never heard of Hale, but his life and work had a profound effect on the development of 20th century science in America, most notably--astronomy. The Journey to Palomar traces the epic personal and professional quest of the Chicago-born astronomer to build the four largest telescopes of the 20th century, culminating with the 20-year effort to build the million-pound telescope on Palomar Mountain, a project considered the "moon shot" of the 1930s and 1940s. Again and again, Hale battled with powerful backers — men like Charles Yerkes, Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to have them contribute millions of dollars to his vision of American astronomy. Hale's giant telescopes enabled the most profound astronomical discoveries since Galileo and Copernicus. They also laid the foundation for the preeminence of American science, today's marvels like the Hubble Space Telescope and tomorrow's super giant telescopes.

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