For Public and Community

LIGO Hanford Observatory provides many different opportunities for members of the public to visit or tour the site. Click on the link to the type of tour you are interested in for the latest updates, additional visit requirements, and any necessary reservation forms.

• Monthly Public Tours
• Private Tours
• Drop-In Visits

If LHO is hosting a special event, it will appear at the bottom of this page:

Upcoming Special Events at LHO:

On October 23rd from 7pm -9pm

LIGO Hanford Observatory proudly presents a screening of the documentary "The Faraway Nearby". 

At the intersection of art and science, The Faraway Nearby illustrates Joe Weber’s struggle to be the first to ‘hear’ gravitational waves in space, a passion that consumed him until his death. It is a story of self sacrifice and the pioneering spirit, featuring interviews with Nobel Laureates Kip Thorne and Rai Weiss, astrophysicists Nergis Mavalvala and Rana Adhikari, psychologist Steven Pinker, and many others.

This film was directed by Paula Froehle, produced by Steve Cohen and Hussain Currimbhoy, and co-created with Alan Lightman. This special screening will be preceded by an introduction from Lightman and will be followed by a unique Q&A session with Froehle and LIGO Hanford Observatory head Michael Landry.

The LIGO Exploration Center (LExC) will be open special hours for this event: 6:15pm -7:15pm. The LExC building houses one of Weber's first attempts at building a gravitational wave detectors.Built in the 1960s at the University of Maryland, this large aluminum cylinder was designed to vibrate when gravitational waves pass through it. Today, such ‘resonant bars’ are also known as Weber bars. Weber bars were stored and operated in vacuum chambers to reduce the effects of acoustic noise. LIGO also utilizes vacuums for this purpose, along with in order to reduce light scattering of the laser.

This film will include English subtitles for various audiences to ensure accessibility and enhance the viewing experience.  ​

Watch the Trailer Below​

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