12” Clark Refractor Dome in Today it houses the 40” Nickel Reflector. This dome was the first permanent structure constructed on Mount Hamilton.

King David Kalakaua of Hawaii In 1881 he visited the Lick Observatory while it was still under construction as part of his world tour to study matters of immigration, how others ruled, and improve foreign relations. He was among the first to view the heavens through the 12” Clark Refracting Telescope, temporarily erected that night for his visit in the still unfinished dome. The first scientific use of the 12” telescope would be later that year on November 7, 1881 to study the Transit of Mercury across the Sun.

12” Clark Refractor Installed in 1881 after purchase from Henry Draper. Alvan Clark thought this objective lens was among the best he had ever seen.

Anna L. Nickel Anna Nickel was a seamstress in San Francisco and donated $50,000 dollars, a large fraction of her estate, to Lick Observatory. These funds were used to build a 40-inch reflecting telescope. While it was estimated that such a telescope would cost $750,000, and just $50,000 had been donated, Lick Observatory ingenuity and adeptness at recycling kept the total spent on parts at only $28,000. By building "in-house" at the UCO Technical Facilities at UC Santa Cruz, an estimated $400,000 of labor was provided as a part of regular shop operations.

Nickel 40” Reflecting Telescope The Nickel Telescope is a modern, computer controlled telescope used for both research and education. The f/17 focal ratio design of the Nickel telescope matches that of the 120” Shane Reflecting telescope located about a quarter mile east of the Nickel Dome. This allows instruments to be used at either telescope, or for new technologies to be tested on the smaller telescope before being transferred to the Shane telescope.

Nickel Telescope Instruments Many different instruments can be mounted on the 40” Telescope to do different types of science and education. Eyepiece - Viewing the heavens for public education events. Direct Imaging Camera - Take pictures of astronomical objects to measure their structure, color, and position in the sky. Spectrograph - Used to determine an astronomical object’s temperature, composition, and the speed at which it is moving towards or away from us. Optical SETI - Look for laser pulses from other civilizations. POLISH - Measure the polarization of the light from a star or other object. Trifid Nebula image from the 40” Nickel Telescope. Image courtesy of Dr. Elinor Gates, UCO/Lick Observatory.