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."
Lick Observatory
Today in History
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Feature Attraction: 85 years at the drive-in
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A wild and scenic scene
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Wedded Rocks, Japan
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Going head-to-head with winter
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Black History Month
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Oh, to sleep under the northern lights
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Veterans Day
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A day of death and rebirth
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Infant Sumatran orangutan, Indonesia
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Falling for Rioja
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It’s oh so quiet
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Zion National Park Turns 100
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An ancient sailing tradition takes to the water
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Going with the floe
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A glimpse of the Blue Forest
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Winter in the Finnish wilds
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The Crown Jewel of the North Atlantic
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A willowy welcome to spring
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Hiding in plain sight
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Spring equinox
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Bobbio, Italy
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World Rivers Day
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Cherry blossoms in Shanghai, China
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Notes from an underground lake
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Hallstatt, Austria
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A timeless view of the night sky
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Languid life on the Lakes
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Apple trees in spring, Germany
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Happy New Year! (Again!)
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World Oceans Day