2022年1月 - 星空迷

安沙波利哥沙漠州立公园，美国加利福尼亚州 Borrego Badlands in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California (© Tom Hogan/plainpicture)

Borrego Badlands

If you're looking to take in a beautiful sunset over some exotic terrain, you could do worse than the Borrego Badlands, a 20-mile stretch of desert in southeastern California's Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. This arid landscape is not the kind of dune-filled terrain t you might visualize when you think of a desert, but a series of rolling hills, canyons, gullies, and arroyos, speckled with sparse but hardy vegetation. It makes for a surreal and beautiful view.

Fossilized seashells found in the area reveal that this arid landscape was once submerged under the waters of the Gulf of California and the Colorado River. The terrain was shaped over time by water and wind erosion into its current form. Today, the Borrego Badlands is a favorite spot for campers, while photographers are drawn by the picture-perfect sunsets.

博雷戈荒地

如果你想在异国情调的地形上欣赏美丽的日落，你可能会比博雷戈荒地（Borrego Badlands）更糟糕。博雷戈荒地位于加利福尼亚州东南部的安扎博雷戈沙漠州立公园（Anza Borrego desert State Park），是一片20英里长的沙漠。这片干旱的土地并不是你想象中的那种布满沙丘的土地，而是一系列起伏的丘陵、峡谷、沟壑和荒野，点缀着稀疏但耐寒的植被。这是一个超现实主义和美丽的景色。

在该地区发现的贝壳化石表明，这片干旱的土地曾被淹没在加利福尼亚湾和科罗拉多河的水域之下。随着时间的推移，地形被水和风侵蚀成现在的形状。今天，博雷戈荒地是露营者最喜欢的地方，而摄影师则被完美的日落所吸引。

汉密尔顿山顶的利克天文台，美国加利福尼亚州 The Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, near San Jose, California (© Jeffrey Lewis/Tandem Stills + Motion)

Lick Observatory

Shrouded in snow on the summit of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California, lies the world's first permanently occupied mountaintop observatory. Constructed between 1876 and 1887, the Lick Observatory has been the site of significant discoveries including several of Jupiter's moons and other planetary systems. It's named for American real-estate entrepreneur James Lick, who set aside $700,000 for the University of California to build a facility that would be home to a 'telescope superior to and more powerful than any telescope yet made.'

His wish came true. The 36-inch refracting telescope on Mount Hamilton was the largest that had ever been built from when it saw first light on January 3, 1888, until the construction of the 40-inch refractor at Wisconsin's Yerkes Observatory in 1897. Sadly, Lick died before his vision became a reality, but his name lives on. His body is even buried beneath the telescope, which continues to scan the skies today.

利克天文台

在加利福尼亚州圣何塞以东的暗黑破坏神山脉的汉密尔顿山顶上，积雪覆盖着世界上第一座永久性的山顶天文台。建于1876年至1887年间的利克天文台一直是重大发现的地点，其中包括一些木星卫星和其他行星系统。这是以美国房地产企业家James Lick命名的，他为加利福尼亚大学留出了700000美元建造一个设施，它将是一个比任何望远镜都更强大、更强大的望远镜。

他的愿望实现了。汉密尔顿山上的36英寸折射望远镜是从1888年1月3日第一次看到曙光到1897年威斯康星州耶克斯天文台建造40英寸折射望远镜的最大望远镜。可悲的是，利克在他的梦想变成现实之前就去世了，但他的名字却永存。他的尸体甚至被埋在望远镜下面，望远镜今天继续扫描天空。

Prague, Czech Republic

As a haze of blowing snow diffuses the streetlights of Prague, try to count the steeples, belfries, turrets, and towers that make up the Czech capital's skyline. You may lose count like 19th-century travel writers did when they dubbed Prague the 'city of 100 spires.' The number is closer to 1,000.

A few 'points' of interest: The Church of Our Lady before Týn in the foreground boasts 18 spires total between its two towers. Looming behind it is Prague Castle, built starting in the year 870 and currently the world's largest ancient castle. And the Old Town Hall, its clock tower brightly lit at left, houses an even more impressive timepiece at its base in the city square: The Prague Orloj, the oldest working astronomical clock, which has tracked celestial movements since 1410.

捷克共和国布拉格

当吹雪的烟雾弥漫布拉格的路灯时，试着数一数构成捷克首都天际线的尖塔、钟楼、塔楼和塔楼。你可能会像19世纪旅行作家将布拉格称为“100个尖塔之城”时那样数不清这个数字接近1000。

有趣的是：前景中Týn之前的圣母教堂在两座塔楼之间共有18个尖塔。它后面隐约可见布拉格城堡，建于870年，目前是世界上最大的古堡。旧市政厅的钟楼在左边明亮地点亮，在其位于城市广场的底座上放置着一个更令人印象深刻的钟表：布拉格奥尔洛伊，最古老的工作天文钟，自1410年以来一直跟踪天体运动。