Lick Observatory is in San Jose California, which places it close to our home in Morgan Hill. We visit about once a year, enjoying lectures, music and viewing through the historic James Lick Telescope. It is owned and operated by the University of California. When the observatory was completed in 1887 it was the first permanently occupied mountain top observatory in the world, and the 36” James Lick Telescope was the largest refracting telescope in the world. As the City of San Jose grew, there was concern that light pollution from the valley would destroy the viewing at Lick. Fortunately, in the 1980’s San Jose replaced all the city lights with low pressure sodium lights and Lick has continued to be the site of many significant discoveries.
The east wing of Lick Observatory and the dome housing the 36" James Lick refractor
The east wing of Lick Observatory and the dome housing the 36" James Lick refractor
The 120" Shane telescope has an adaptive optics system and uses a very strong laser beam to create a guide star.