Original post on mastodon.social

#LickObservatory needs your help:

"Early on Thursday, Dec. 25, severe winds gusting up to 114 miles per hour tore across Mount Hamilton. The multi-ton shutter section fell outward onto the roof of the Great Hall, crushing several structural beams.
The Great Refractor telescope was not damaged […]

Historic Lick Observatory closes to public following significant wind damage Early on Thursday, Dec. 25, severe winds gusting up to 114 miles per hour tore loose half of the shutter on the 140-year old 36-inch Great Refractor dome. No one was injured.

Oof!

The storm that's been blanketing the Bay Area has been intermittent, but every once in a while it unleashes. On Christmas, I received emergency phone alerts for possible tornadoes & flash flooding. I wish Lick Observatory a speedy recovery.

#LickObservatory

news.ucsc.edu/2025/12/hist...

A fun field trip arranged by KQED, San Francisco Public Media. And yes, I got to look through the eyepiece!
#LickObservatory
#astronomy
#publicmedia

Lick Observatory, Mt. Hamilton, California

#California
#LickObservatory
#astronomy
#UniversityOfCalifornia
#architecture

Group fears latest billboard proposal will have long-ranging implications for San Jose A proposal to add digital billboards at four city-owned locations downtown could generate a guaranteed minimum of $21 million over a 20-year period

Group fears latest #billboard proposal will have long-ranging implications for #SanJose

www.mercurynews.com/2025/02/24/g...

#environment #DTSJ #SiliconValley #Environment #lightpollution #nightsky #Roadsafety #SJC #placemaking #ClimateCrisis #LickObservatory #darksky

A stunning low-angle HDR shot of Lick Observatory's 36-inch Great Refractor telescope pointed at a partially eclipsed Moon during the November 19, 2021, lunar eclipse. The telescope's interior is illuminated by red light, contrasting with the partially cloudy night sky where the Pleiades star cluster is visible near the eclipsed moon.

Astronomy Picture from 26/11/2021

Great Refractor and Lunar Eclipse

Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211126.html


#LickObservatory #LunarEclipse #PartiallyEclipsedMoon #GreatRefractor #Astrophotography #NightSky #Pleiades #Astronomy #Space #Cosmology #Telescope #Moon #Stars #Observatory

Celestial Giant: The Great Lick Refractor We went to the legendary Lick Observatory located on Mt. Hamilton high above the Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. It was a special night for photographers. Located in the larger dome of the main observatory building, the Great Lick refractor is 57 feet long, 4 feet in diameter, and weighs over 25,000 lbs (12 tons). Once the telescope was in place, the lights went out, and all that was left was dark glowing red. The entire scene is captured through a 210º fisheye lens, producing a spherical and immersive effect. -- ƒ/4.0, 4 mm, 13 sec, ISO 3200, Sony A6000, Laowa 4mm f/2.8 Fisheye, HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2023 Peter Thoeny, @Quality HDR Photography

Celestial Giant: The Great Lick Refractor

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2023 Peter Thoeny, QualityHDR.com

#photography #art #FineArt #monochrome #BlackAndWhite #sepia #observatory #LickObservatory #SanJose #SiliconValley #SFBay #SanFrancisco #California @bskyphotos.bsky.social

#Venus #TransitOfVenus #LickObservatory #animation

#LickObservatory, #MtHamilton