Lick Observatory

10/02/2026

A new UC San Diego feature looks into the search for life beyond Earth. Lick Observatory is right at the heart of it!

We're proud to house PANOSETI instrumentation, scanning the night sky for optical technosignatures.

Read the story: Is Anyone Out There? 👽
https://today.ucsd.edu/story/is-anyone-out-there

Curiosity drives almost all of us, and little sparks the imagination more than thinking about who might live among the stars.

10/02/2026

We’ve got a long legacy of incredible milestones on Mount Hamilton—and this is easily one of our proudest! 🔭⚡

Thirty years ago, history was made right here on the 3-meter Shane Telescope when LLNL and UC Observatories turned on the world's first successful astronomical sodium laser guide star system.

Check out the full story below from UC Observatories!

Thirty years ago, in September and October 1996, an extraordinary breakthrough took place atop Mount Hamilton that forever changed ground-based astronomy. On the 3-meter Shane Telescope at Lick Observatory, a joint team from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and UC Observatories captured...

09/24/2026

Lick Observatory has always been a home for groundbreakers, and we couldn't be prouder to have supported Alex Filippenko throughout his 40+ years of research and mentorship! ✨

Alex’s pioneering work with the 30-inch KAIT telescope and Shane Telescope helped revolutionize how we study exploding stars and cosmic expansion, paving the way for his 2026 Gruber Cosmology Prize.

From pioneering robotic telescopes to groundbreaking cosmology, astronomers affiliated with Lick Observatory are shaping our understanding of the universe Lick Observatory: Behind the Telescopes by Kaia Glickman At the start of Alex Filippenko’s career more than 40 years ago, supernovae were rarel...

09/16/2026

💫Call it a match made in the heavens!💫
The + UC Santa Cruz Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics + Lick Observatory!
In honor of our 2026 theme “Apple Pies and Starry Skies," these star struck groups are hosting a booth at the Fair!
And talk about a hands on experience... the booth will feature the powerful Unistellar eVscope, the Sky-Watcher telescope and the Seestar S50 smart telescope.
🌜You might even get to take home a photo as a keepsake!🌛
Make sure to stop by this stellar new experience at the !

09/16/2026

Join Lick Observatory and UC Santa Cruz Science Astronomy at the Santa Cruz County Fair ! 🔭✨

Stop by our booth in the FUN ZONE (near Amphitheater K) from Sept 16–20 to explore the cosmos with us:
• Deep-Sky Views: See nebulae & galaxies live with the Unistellar eVscope (5–10 PM, Sept 16–20).
• Solar Observing: Safely view the solar surface with our new Sky-Watcher H-Alpha telescope and Seestar S50 smart scope.
• NASA Giveaways: Visit us on Sept 19-20 for official International Observe the Moon Night maps & journals!

See you at the fairgrounds!

09/04/2026

We are so proud to host La Noche de las Estrellas at Lick Observatory, inspired by the incredible work of our alumnus Dr. José de Jesús González González!

Opening our doors to Bay Area and Central Coast high schools with Latin heritage and sharing the wonder of the night sky and inspiring the next generation of scientists and leaders in our local communities, is at the heart of our mission to serve and educate the residents of California and open STEM fields to all. We're planning an expanded La Noche de las Estrellas celebration for 2027!

Astronomers who trained at Lick Observatory early in their careers are now scattered across the globe, setting new standards in their fields. Lick Observatory: Behind the Telescopes by Kaia Glickman It’s rare for astronomers to spend their entire academic and professional careers at just two insti...

09/01/2026

Christmas Storm Damage Repair Update: The Main Building/Visitor Center roof and interior damage repairs are nearing completion. The 36" Refractor Dome is now the focus of repair planning. Stantec is at the Observatory using LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) to scan the 36" Refractor Dome. These scans will be used by SGH (an engineering company with telescope dome experience) to evaluate the shape of the dome, the damage, and plan the dome repairs. The first photo is a snapshot of one of the interior dome LiDAR scans. The exterior LiDAR scans are done using a drone, shown in the second photo with the staff from Stantec and the historic Refractor Dome in the background. Photos courtesy of Elinor Gates.

08/28/2026

From watching astronomy YouTube videos in Tanzania to operating world-class telescopes atop Mt. Hamilton, meet astronomy Ph.D. student Lordrick Kahinga!

For Lordrick, Lick Observatory was where his dream transformed into reality: "At Lick Observatory, I found confidence in myself as an astronomer. It’s a place where undergraduates, graduate students, professional astronomers, teachers, and mentors of the public can all encounter astronomy directly."

As we celebrate Lick Observatory’s 150th anniversary, stories like Lordrick's highlight why hands-on access to research facilities remains vital for inspiring and training the next generation of scientists.

Read Lordrick's full journey and watch the video feature: A student’s trajectory from Tanzania and transformation into a scientist: https://news.ucsc.edu/2026/08/lick-observatory-150-anniversary/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB_CMBIrqQc&t=2s

UC Santa Cruz Science UC Observatories

08/25/2026

Celebrating 150 years of Lick Observatory! Honored to gather with incredible leaders, astronomers, and visionaries to mark this milestone in space science and discovery this past weekend.

Group shot (left to right):
Capt. Victor Glover (NASA Astronaut, Artemis II Pilot), Loren Kinczel (Lick Observatory 150th Anniversary Chair), James Milliken (UC President), Bruce Macintosh (UCO Director), Cynthia Larive (UCSC Chancellor), Lordrick Kahinga (PhD Candidate, UCSC Astronomy), Andrea Ghez (UCLA, Keynote Speaker & Nobel Prize Winner).

Here’s to a century and a half of looking up and reaching for the stars!

University of California UCLA UC Santa Cruz Science NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration UC Observatories

08/18/2026

Tonight, just after sunset, the Shane telescope was pointed at Venus, low in the western sky. You can see the circle of the top of the Shane telescope at the very bottom of the dome slit, in the center of the photo. Our HamCam2 we**am caught the view of the telescope in this unusual position.