C. Donald Shane Telescope, Research telescope at Lick Observatory, Mount Hamilton, US

The C. Donald Shane Telescope is a research telescope on Mount Hamilton in California, with a primary mirror close to 3 meters (about 10 feet) across. It has three focal stations, each designed for a different type of astronomical observation, and houses several instruments including a double spectrograph.

The telescope began operating in 1959 and at that time ranked as the second-largest optical telescope in the world. Its primary mirror had originally been planned for a different project before being redirected to this instrument.

The telescope is named after C. Donald Shane, who led the effort to secure funding from the California Legislature and oversaw its construction; the name was given in 1978. In 2009 the observatory marked the instrument's fiftieth anniversary with a ticketed dinner and a lecture on exoplanets. The Kast Double Spectrograph, in operation since 1992, records spectra from near-infrared to near-ultraviolet.

The Shane telescope is a working research instrument, not a public attraction, so there is no general visitor access to the dome or viewing through the eyepiece. Lick Observatory's visitor programmes run on scheduled ticketed evenings, and the Shane is a stop on the guided observatory tour. Mount Hamilton is reached by a winding road from San Jose, and the site sits at roughly 1,300 metres, so allow time for the drive and the altitude.

The telescope uses a laser guide star system that projects a visible beam of green light into the sky, which can be seen from the ground below. This system works by creating an artificial reference point in the upper atmosphere that helps produce sharper images.