George Ellery Hale

George Ellery Hale was an American solar astronomer, best known for his discovery of magnetic fields in sunspots, and as the leader or key figure in the planning or construction of several world-leading telescopes; namely, the 40-inch refracting telescope at Yerkes Observatory, 60-inch Hale reflecting telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory, 100-inch Hooker reflecting telescope at Mount Wilson, and the 200-inch Hale reflecting telescope at Palomar Observatory. He also played a key role in the foundation of the International Union for Cooperation in Solar Research and the National Research Council, and in developing the California Institute of Technology into a leading research university.

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Astronomer George Ellery Hale, who built a 60" telescope and started a bigger 200" telescope, had an imaginary elf who acted as his advisor. His psychological problems got so bad it forced him to resign as director of Mount Wilson observatory

Astronomy George Ellery Hale observed the sun in 1908 through a 60-foot solar telescope and documented the Zeeman effect in a sunspot. Hale’s photograph represented the first magnetic fields discovered outside of Earth

At age 24, George Ellery Hale revolutionized solar observations with his invention of the spectroheliograph, making it possible to photograph the sun's prominences in full daylight. A spectroheliograph can tune-in to gases such as hydrogen and calcium, and photograph specific solar details