By Lisa M. Krieger lkrieger@mercurynews.com

Google has contributed $1 million to help support Lick Observatory, the financially needy astronomy haven atop Mount Hamilton.

While other donors have helped buy high-end instruments, Google's gift is different because it will pay day-to-day operating expenses of the historic observatory, perched on a 4,200-foot summit above San Jose and the only observatory in the UC system where students can design and build their own astronomy projects.

"Google is proud to support their efforts to bring hands-on astronomical experiences to students and the public," said Chris DiBona, director of open source for Google, in a prepared statement.

The gift -- $500,000 a year, for two years -- is the first of what astronomers hope will be other private gifts to support the teaching and research resource. Lick astronomers have discovered asteroids, moons of Jupiter and planets outside our solar system.

It will be used to hire another telescope operator for the Shane three-meter telescope, which periodically closes due to staff shortages. Another probable use of the funds will be to continue the development of laser guide star adaptive optics.

The gift represents about one-quarter of the observatory's annual budget, augmenting the $1.5 million UC gives each year to operate the mountaintop site.

"Google's very generous gift will make it possible for Lick ... to continue to develop forefront tools such as adaptive optics, which removes image blurring caused by turbulence in Earth's atmosphere," said Claire Max, interim director of the University of California Observatories, which operates Lick.

Until its funding was cut, Lick's budget was about $2.5 million annually supporting astronomers and students from eight of the 10 UC campuses and the UC-managed Department of Energy labs.

UC announced in 2013 that it would reduce funding for Lick starting in 2016, with a complete cutoff after 2018. "Telescopes and instruments are growing ever more expensive, and many of the traditional sources of funds for supporting astronomy -- the state and federal governments -- are facing growing claims on their resources," according to one report. "Old facilities on Mt. Hamilton ... would cost more to modernize than could be rationalized in terms of their usefulness."

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Google gives $1 million to historic Lick Observatory