Mohon del Trigo Observatory

Looking more like a monastery than an observatory, the Mohon del Trigo Observatory in Spain sits abandoned on top of a mountain, staring blindly at the stars.

Built in 1902 to take advantage of the crisp, clear skies over the isolated Sierra Nevada mountains, the observatory at Mohon del Trigo was a testament to early modern astronomy. Unfortunately, with the continual march of time and technological progress, the aging station was nearly obsolete by the middle of the century.

A new observatory was built nearby around the 1970s, and the observatory at Mohon del Trigo was stripped and abandoned. The empty building still stands atop its hill, doing its best to survive weather and trespassers, but nonetheless cutting a striking image against the mountain vistas.