The Leander McCormick Observatory is one of the astronomical observatories operated by the Department of Astronomy of the University of Virginia, and is situated just outside Charlottesville, Virginia (US) in Albemarle County on the summit of Mount Jefferson. It is named for Leander J. McCormick (1819–1900), who provided the funds for the telescope and observatory.
Leander McCormick Observatory at night
Leander McCormick Observatory in 1890
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Historically, observatories were as simple as containing an astronomical sextant or Stonehenge.
The Sphinx Observatory on a mountain top in the Swiss Alps at 3,571 m (11,716 ft)
Atacama Large Millimeter Array, Chile, at 5,058 m (16,594 ft)
Paranal Observatory, Chile, home of the VLT at 2,635 m (8,645 ft)
The Mauna Kea Observatories, Hawaii, home of several of the world's largest optical telescopes at 4,205 m (13,796 ft)