Mt. Wilson, Calif. — Astronomer Brian Kloppenborg, 27, is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Denver studying the eclipsing phenomenon of the star Epsilon Aurigae. One of the best places to study and view the star is on Mt. Wilson where Kloppenborg and a small team of scientists using the CHARA array telescopes are able to observe the eclipse that lasts for 18 months, but appears once every 27 years.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=19788

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Mt. Wilson, Calif. — Kloppenborg shown with a computer-generated image of the star Epsilon Aurigae while he waits to observe the star through the CHARA array telescopes on Mt. Wilson.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=19789

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Mt. Wilson, Calif. — One of the 1-meter telescopes (in the foreground) operated by Georgia State University's Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) on Mt. Wilson is open and ready for business beneath a bright moon. Next to it is a 60-inch telescope.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=19790

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Mt. Wilson, Calif. — Emerald lasers are used to target and align the beam array coming from the telescopes at Georgia State's Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) on Mt. Wilson. University of Denver astronomer Brian Kloppenborg is using the array to focus on the Epsilon Aurigae star and to study the eclipse phenomenon that occurs every 27 years.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=19791

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Mt. Wilson, Calif. — Kloppenborg, right, goes over data with telescope operator P.J. Goldfinger at the Georgia State CHARA facility on Mt. Wilson.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

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Mt. Wilson, Calif — Kloppenborg takes a break at midnight from his research work on Mt. Wilson.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

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Mt. Wilson, Calif. — The monitors at the Georgia State CHARA facility on Mt. Wilson are operating, but high winds are preventing any sharp viewing by Kloppenborg.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=19794

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Mt. Wilson, Calif. — The array of telescopes operated by Georgia State's CHARA on Mt. Wilson are connected by vacuum tubes, where the light travels and then is later combined to form a high-resolution image.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=19795

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Mt. Wilson, Calif. — The famous 100-inch telescope on Mt. Wilson is open to the public, and still in use by astronomers.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=19796

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