The Sphinx Observatory isn’t the highest astronomical observatory on Earth, but it might feel like it to the lucky travelers who visit. To reach the observatory, they take a train up into the Alps, alight at Europe’s highest railway station, and ascend in an elevator tunneled inside the mountain. Once on top, stargazing is the academic focus, but visitors can take in sweeping views from the Sphinx’s 11,716-foot vantage. On either side are the Jungfrau and the Mönch, both members of the ‘four-thousander’ club—mountains that tower at least 4,000 meters (that’s 13,123 feet) above sea level.
A viewer with a view
Today in History
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Arches National Park, Utah
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Spring comes to Glacier National Park
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50 years of the Endangered Species Act
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Everglades National Park marks 90 years
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Sanxiantai Dragon Bridge in Taitung, Taiwan
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World Rhinoceros Day
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The migrating monarchs of Michoacán
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Happy Holi!
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Przewalskis horses, Hustai National Park, Mongolia
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Love on ice
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Great horned owl near Lake Tohopekaliga, Florida
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St. Joseph North Pier Inner and Outer Lights, Michigan
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Hungarian Parliament Building, Budapest, Hungary
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Happy Thanksgiving!
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Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve in Costa Rica
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The dog days of summer
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A Eurasian red squirrel in Switzerland
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That s quite a schnoz, baby tapir
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Annivesary of the Wilderness Act of 1964
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A lunar lantern celebration
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Christmas market at Belvedere Palace in Vienna
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National Poinsettia Day
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Taughannock Falls State Park
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Celebrating Madagascar on its Independence Day
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Pollinator Week
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Hollywood s big night
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What happened to these clouds?
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Overlooking the Douro
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World Meteorological Day
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Let’s go mothing
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