Providing UC Astronomers state of the art facilities
A summer internship at Lick Observatory offers astronomy students a unique opportunity to engage in real-world academic astronomy. It includes hands-on experience in data collection, reduction, and analysis, as well as exposure to telescope maintenance tasks.
Come and work with us
We have positions open on the stunningly situated Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton near San Jose and the wonderful campus of UC Santa Cruz.
Student/Postdoc/Faculty opportunities across UC

As we head into the holiday season UCO would like to highlight several Hawaii charities and opportunities for us to support the communities, as they recover from the devastating Maui fires and with ongoing needs on the Big Island.
The Maui Strong Fund continues to be the major hub for fire-recovery support
The Boys and Girls Club of Maui provides important programs for youth.
The Pacific Birth Collective has seen a rise in miscarriages, still births, pre-term births and sudden infant death syndrome since the fire.
On the Big Island (with thanks to our friends at WMKO for helping find opportuntiies to give)
The Maunakea Forest Restoration Project is working to sustain the ecosystem of the Mauna.
The Hawai’i Foodbasket helps with food security for the communities of the island. The Na Kalai Wa’a voyaging organization supports amazing projects with ocean-going canoes. Finally the Waimea Middle School has a beautiful donation-supported garden.
Featured News
Upcoming Events
Lick Observatory’s Summer Series of events will go on general sale in Spring 2024! More information is available at Lick Observatory Events

We engage the local community with public telescope viewings. More than 2,400 guests visit the observatory each year for the Summer Series. Visitors have a chance to view a glimpse of the stars through two historic telescopes and listen to lectures by world-renowned astronomers. In the “Evenings with the Stars” program, we invite world-renowned astronomers to Lick Observatory for an evening with the “stars” you won’t forget.
Special annual Lick Observatory visitors night for the Spanish-speaking community
"La Noche de las Estrellas" is a special annual Lick Observatory visitors night for the Spanish-speaking community (by invitation only). Lick Observatory hosts approximately 100 high school students and family members from five nearby High Schools (Gonzales, Soledad, Salinas, Castroville, and Watsonville). The students and family members enjoy a Spanish-speaking evening on Mount Hamilton, featuring short lectures by renowned scientists, followed by telescope viewings after dark through Lick Observatory's 36" Great Refractor and 40" Nickel telescopes. This special event is sponsored and made possible by: The University of California Observatories (UCO) University of California, Santa Cruz MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) U.S. National Science Foundation and Friends of Lick Observatory (FoLO). The next La Noche de las Estrellas takes place in the fall of 2024.