The Sphinx Observatory isn’t the highest astronomical observatory on Earth, but it might feel like it to the lucky travelers who visit. To reach the observatory, they take a train up into the Alps, alight at Europe’s highest railway station, and ascend in an elevator tunneled inside the mountain. Once on top, stargazing is the academic focus, but visitors can take in sweeping views from the Sphinx’s 11,716-foot vantage. On either side are the Jungfrau and the Mönch, both members of the ‘four-thousander’ club—mountains that tower at least 4,000 meters (that’s 13,123 feet) above sea level.
A viewer with a view
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Edinburgh festivals
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Beavers Bend
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Protecting endangered giants
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Sequoia National Parks 134th anniversary
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Fox kits
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Flocking together in the Antarctic
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Giant kelp in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
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Celebrating World Wildlife Day
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Endangered Species Day
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International Archaeology Day
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We did not invent this, honest
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Wayag Islands in the Raja Ampat Islands of Indonesia
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Hawaii Volcanoes National Park turns 103
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Who s hiding in the kelp?
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Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument anniversary
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Dance of the egret
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National Mushroom Month
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Global commerce in motion
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Four Sisters, thousands of trees
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National Park Service anniversary
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Sky island views
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World Children s Day
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National Hammock Day
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Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve in Costa Rica
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A. M. Foster Bridge in Cabot, Vermont
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What s cuter than nuzzling rhinos?
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Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta
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National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
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In honor of those we ve lost
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World Bamboo Day
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

