Table Mountain Observatory

Table Mountain Observatory

Aerial view of Table Mountain Observatory
Organization	NASA / JPL
Code	673
Location	Wrightwood, California, U.S.
Coordinates	34°22′55″N 117°40′54″W / 34.3820°N 117.6818°W / 34.3820; -117.6818Coordinates: 34°22′55″N 117°40′54″W / 34.3820°N 117.6818°W / 34.3820; -117.6818
Altitude	2,286 meters (7,500 ft)
Established	1924 (1924)
Website	tmf-web.jpl.nasa.gov
Telescopes
Pomona College Telescope 1.0 m reflector unnamed telescope 0.6 m reflector
[]

Table Mountain Observatory (TMO) is an astronomical observation facility operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (California Institute of Technology). It is located in Angeles National Forest near Wrightwood, north-northeast of Los Angeles, California, in the United States.

TMO is part of JPL's Table Mountain Facility (TMF). The larger site hosts a number of non-astronomical projects. The site was first used by the Smithsonian Institution in 1924, which conducted atmospheric, solar, and astronomical observations for many years. JPL took over the lease in 1962. The observatory conducts high-precision astrometric observations to support NASA and international spacecraft mission navigation, confirmation and recovery of near-Earth objects such as comets and asteroids that may potentially impact the Earth, and technology development.

The main-belt asteroid 84882 Table Mountain was named in honor of the observatory.

More than 260 minor planets were discovered at TMO, often referred to as "Wrightwood" the Minor Planet Center and credited to several astronomers, most notably to James Young, but also to other astronomers such as Jack B. Child, Greg Fisch, A. Grigsby, D. Mayes, and Mallory Vale. The MPC also directly credits TMO with the discovery of one numbered main-belt asteroid (see table).