Underage Rent a car and Lick Observatory
The Lick Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of California. It is located on Mount Hamilton is the Diablo Range, which you can visit with your underage rent a car.
See more than just the night sky
The Lick Observatory was the world's first permanently occupied mountain-top observatory, which you can visit with your underage rent a car. It was constructed between 1876 and 1887. It was built from a bequest from James Lick, who is buried under the site of the telescope. The site was so remote that a road had to be built and the materials had to be brought to the site by horse and mule. The road is winding, so be careful while navigating it with your underage rent a car. There are approximately 365 turns on the road, so make sure that you don't get car sick on the way up!
The geeky facts
When you visit the observatory with your underage rent a car you will have a chance to see the skies with a 36 inch refracting telescope on Mount Hamilton. When it was first used in 1888, it was the largest refracting telescope on Earth. That same year, the observatory was turned over the University of California. The location is excellent today because there is little ambient light and pollution. The night air on Mount Hamilton is very calm and is above the normal cloud cover that is often found in the San Jose area. If there is a low cloud cover, then the light pollution is almost nothing in the area, making night viewings perfectly visible. This is because in the 1980s, the streetlamps in San Jose were replaced with low pressure sodium lamps that have reduced the overall light pollution. In recognition of this accomplishment, the International Astronomical Union has named asteroid 6216 after San Jose.
Make your evening out of this world
There have been several significant discoveries from Lick Observatory, including several moons of Jupiter, extra solar planets, and near-Earth asteroids.
Make a date with the devil
The Lick Observatory is found in the Diablo Mountain Range. When you are here with your underage rent a car you can take a trip through this mountain range that extends from the Carquinez Strait in the north to Orchard Peak in the South, where State Route 46 crosses the Coast Ranges at Cholame. Aside from Mount Hamilton, some of the other important peaks include Rose Peak, Mount Diablo, San Benito Mountain, Copenicus Peak, and Mount Stakes. Much of the area is unpopulated outside of the San Francisco Bay area. There are several state parks that you can visit here with your underage rent a car, including Mount Diablo State Park and Henry W. Coe State Park.
Lick's Observatory is the oldest permanent mountain observatory and makes an interesting trip to the Diablo Mountain Range with your underage rent a car.
|
