View more images from the celebration.
UC Santa Cruz and Silicon Valley leaders on Monday marked the 130th anniversary of Lick Observatory, which has been at the forefront of astronomical research since 1888.
“It is impossible to overemphasize the value of Lick Observatory,” Chancellor George Blumenthal said. “While the UC Observatory headquarters is on the UC Santa Cruz campus, Lick and UCO are an excellent example of UC’s ‘Power of Ten.’ UC’s 10-campus resource base allows for the building and maintenance of world-class facilities for education and research that no single campus could manage.”
The University of California owns and operates the facility, which was founded by a bequest from James Lick. The $700,000 gift was the largest philanthropic gift in the history of science and would amount to $1.2 billion today.
State Senator Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) presented a state resolution to Blumenthal on behalf of the South Bay legislative delegation in honor of Lick Observatory. The presentation took place at the observatory’s 36-inch Great Refractor telescope.
“Human progress does not end with us looking up at the stars, but rather challenging ourselves to define what the next frontier will be,” said Wieckowski, the chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. “We are here to recognize Lick for being a resource for our state for more than a century, and we are grateful to the team who continues to maintain this observatory. The research and educational programs here not only broaden our horizons, they inspire students who will become the next generation of astronomers.”
Lick serves astronomers from all eight University of California astronomy campuses, as well as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Its users range in age from undergraduates to the most senior astronomers in the UC system. More than 100 observers are pursuing science programs at Lick at any given time. It is also the UC’s chief site for testing new technologies and instruments for optical astronomy. The technical facilities at UC Santa Cruz and UCLA upgrade existing instruments and develop new instruments for Lick Observatory.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese credited the observatory with helping make the area an 19th century tech hub.
“San Jose—Silicon Valley’s—iconic innovation started here on this mountain top,” he said. The milestones of innovation are reflected along the road put to Mt. Hamilton.”
