Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton is a speck on a distant peak, a landmark we point at when visitors look up. Up close, we found not one but several domes on the terraced hillsides, a metropolis of glass eyes open in wonder at the universe.



Photography night brought a select few out midweek; they braved the serpentine roads at dusk with their tripods and lenses to capture the sunset and swap f-stop stories.





The docents that evening spun the telescope about and regaled us with stories of James Lick and the observatory's construction. Go, if you have the chance - it's a magical experience, to be a few thousand feet closer to the moon.