In honor of its sixty year anniversary, Scott Kardel of Palomar Observatory will outline the future of this astronomical work horse on the mountain.

In this era of large and giant telescopes the old "Big Eye" on Palomar continues to be used nightly. Astronomers continue to build new and innovative instruments for the Hale, keeping it in the forefront of modern astronomy. New instruments that have just arrived and will soon be coming will bring advances in adaptive optics, new exoplanet discoveries, and allow the Hale to detect and map emission from the intergalactic medium.

Scott Kardel is the Palomar Observatory's first full-time person dedicated to education and public outreach. He has a masters degree in Astronomy from the University of Arizona and joined the staff of the Palomar Observatory in 2003. He spends his time running the observatory's vigorous public outreach program, explaining how Palomar's astronomers study the universe and educating the public on topics in astronomy including how to curb the growth of light pollution.