Lick Observatory Jan 3, 2022

Lick Observatory

Shrouded in snow on the summit of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California, lies the world"s first permanently occupied mountaintop observatory. Constructed between 1876 and 1887, the Lick Observatory has been the site of significant discoveries, including several of Jupiter"s moons and other planetary systems. It"s named for American real-estate entrepreneur James Lick, who set aside $700,000 for the University of California to build a facility that would be home to a "telescope superior to and more powerful than any telescope yet made."

© Jeffrey Lewis/Tandem Stills + Motion

palette

Today in History

Jan 3, 2019How do ladybugs winter?
Jan 3, 2020 Field of Light at Sensorio by Bruce Munro
Jan 3, 2021An Alpine fairy-tale castle
Jan 3, 2023Sandhill cranes, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Jan 3, 2024J.R.R. Tolkien Day
Jan 3, 2025Happy Birthday, J.R.R. Tolkien!

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Apr 10, 2021Bear cubs roughhouse on Siblings Day
May 10, 2022Gifford Pinchot National Forest
Dec 9, 2020It s Computer Science Education Week
Sep 22, 2020Happy Hobbit Day
Jul 2, 2025Spine-cheeked anemonefish in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea
Jan 17, 2024Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany
Oct 16, 2021Unearthing a queen s lost tale
Mar 23, 2023World Meteorological Day
Dec 20, 2022Christmas market at Belvedere Palace in Vienna
Dec 1, 2021Antarctica Day
May 28, 2021Freeloaders of the avian world
Aug 3, 2022Red-necked grebes during breeding season
Jul 19, 2022National Bison Month
Sep 16, 2025Nighttime view over the Gulf Coast
Aug 22, 2020A monster view in Scotland
Jan 8, 2023Breckenridge, Colorado
Jul 29, 2023International Tiger Day
Jun 12, 2021In Texas, even the riverbend is big
Sep 7, 2023Camels in the desert, United Arab Emirates
Jan 12, 2023Rumelihisarı in Istanbul, Türkiye
Nov 7, 2018A triumph of light
Apr 23, 2020Duck, duck. duck, duck, duck...
Feb 4, 2023Rosa Parks Day
Nov 26, 2019Staring down winter
Jul 4, 2022Independence Day
Jan 8, 2018Gardens by the Bay nature park, Singapore
Jan 15, 2024Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Sep 5, 2020Beaver achievers
Apr 1, 2020It s Census Day—make it count
Mar 31, 2018Cherry blossoms at the National Mall, Washington, DC