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!
Jan 3, 2026J.R.R. Tolkien Day

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Oct 3, 2018Monarch butterflies migrate south
Sep 20, 2018May we have this dance?
Apr 6, 2021On the rebirth of the Olympic Games
Feb 24, 2020Wind horses carry wishes for a new year
Jun 25, 2024Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Nov 17, 2019Remembering the Velvet Revolution
Oct 7, 2022Berlin Festival of Lights
Jan 23, 2025Sundance Film Festival
Oct 21, 2018Welcome to El Cervantino
Sep 19, 2025Thousand Islands region, St. Lawrence River, US-Canada border
Feb 25, 2024Black History Month
Jul 25, 2023Laguna de Torrevieja, Spain
Sep 23, 2023Autumnal equinox
Feb 3, 2020The moai you know
Apr 25, 2019Here comes summer
Feb 21, 2022Presidents Day
Oct 21, 2022Bald cypress trees in Georgia
Mar 2, 2025Megalong Valley, Blue Mountains National Park, Australia
Jan 2, 2020Winter in the Finnish wilds
Mar 2, 2024Modica, Sicily, Italy
Feb 17, 2022Flamenco dancers
Jun 19, 2021Surf s up—Down Under
Feb 24, 2025Group of giant cuttlefish, Whyalla, South Australia
Jul 28, 2023San Blas Islands, Panama
Aug 9, 2023International Day of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples
Jun 23, 2020Flowers by the sea
Sep 29, 2025The Rainbow Houses of Houten, Netherlands
Apr 25, 2026World Penguin Day
Feb 11, 2019There’s a dog in there somewhere
Jan 1, 2024Happy New Year!