United States donates more than $170 million to restore Chile's Manuel Foster Observatory

A century-old observatory on the summit of Santiago's San Cristóbal Hill is set for restoration with a $185,000 donation from the U.S. Embassy in Chile.

The Manuel Foster Observatory is a National Monument. Originally known as the Lick Observatory, it dates to 1903, when the University of California installed it. In 1928, the institution donated the observatory to Chilean politician and professor Manuel Foster Recabarren, who was associated with the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

The embassy said the funds will restore the observatory's dome and conserve its historic telescope. The project will also produce educational materials highlighting more than a century of scientific collaboration between Chile and the United States.

The donation, worth slightly more than 170 million Chilean pesos, will be formalized at a ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 2, at the summit of San Cristóbal Hill.

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The resources will allow the dome to be restored and the historic telescope to be conserved, as well as educational materials about the century-long scientific collaboration between Chile and the United States to be developed.