The JPL-Table Mountain Facility is a 37 acre
research center located in the San Gabriel
Mountains overlooking the Mojave Desert about 60 miles northeast of JPL's main facility
in Pasadena, CA. TMF is at latitude 34o 22.9' N, longitude 117o
40.8' W and an elevation of 2290m (~7300 ft).The Smithsonian Institution established the facility in 1926 as a major site for solar irradiance studies. Since 1962 TMF has been developed and supported by JPL. No charge is assessed of observers for use of the facility. The site viewing conditions are excellent. On average three out of every four days are suitable for observing throughout the year. Because of the altitude of the site and blocking of the mountains to the south, TMF is relatively unaffected by air pollution from the Los Angeles basin.
Active programs at TMF include a solar test facility with highly accurate coelostat for calibration and testing of solar panels and spacecraft celestial guidance hardware, an Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM) development and testing facility to support the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), and an atmospheric an atmospheric absorption laser remote sensing LIDAR facility. The facility is also home to a Fourier Transform Ultraviolet Spectrometer (FTUVS) and a visible-spectrum Gravity Spectrometer used to study stratospheric ozone and related species. TMF has been designated as a testing site for new instruments to be used in the NDSC (Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change), and has hosted several major intercomparison campaigns for ground-based atmospheric instruments. The facility is staffed year-round by highly competent technical personnel and provides twenty dormitory rooms for overnight accommodation of observers. A major new atmospheric instrument laboratory was constructed at TMF in 1998. Click Here for the TMF Homepage