Mt. Wilson Observatory's Close Encounter

As you may or may not know, the recent seasonal fires in Los Angeles in the last few weeks came dangerously close to the famous observatory sitting atop Mt. Wilson. This is the very same facility from which, in 1929, astronomer Edwin Hubble made the revolutionary discoveries that the universe is expanding, and that it's doing so at an accelerating rate. Needless to say, these discoveries set the stage for some of the most interesting scientific work of the 20th century.

The following time-lapse video captures Mt. Wilson's close encounter with the threatening fires over the course of four days.

It should go without saying that firefighters deserve great credit for having managed to prevent what could have otherwise been a historic scientific tragedy.
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