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:
-
Bear watching in the Finnish forest
-
Let s run em up!
-
Iceland for International Rock Day
-
A Eurasian red squirrel in Switzerland
-
Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
-
Lake Misurina, Dolomites, Italy
-
Stari Most in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
-
Everest s shadow on the Himalayas
-
World Lizard Day
-
National Cherry Blossom Festival
-
A splash by the sea
-
Patriot Day
-
New Zealand s loneliest mountain
-
A timeless view of the night sky
-
Tall, taller, tallest
-
’Chess on ice’
-
Amber Fort, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
-
Happy Independence Day!
-
A long winter’s nap, perhaps?
-
Happy anniversary to the National Park Service!
-
A little blue
-
Bow Bridge in Central Park, New York City
-
Ravens
-
Christmas market, St. Stephens Basilica, Budapest, Hungary
-
Happy Independence Day!
-
World Penguin Day
-
Ring-tailed lemur
-
National Napping Day
-
Crown Fountain by Jume Plensa at Millennium Park in Chicago
-
Put your helmet on, we’re going for a hike
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

