Lick Observatory, once the most powerful telescope in the world, has been temporarily closed by damage from a severe windstorm on Mount Hamilton near San Jose, the University of California, Santa Cruz, said.
A portion of the dome enclosing the 140-year-old refractor telescope was torn loose early Thursday by winds gusting up to 114 mph, the university said. None of the staff were injured.
“They sheltered together through the storm, and when it finally broke, everyone was safe, but the spiritual core of our observatory had been damaged,” said Matthew Shetrone, deputy director at the University of California Observatories.
The damage, which crushed several structural beams, left the refractor telescope untouched but its precision lenses and electrical systems are vulnerable to the elements, the university said in a press release.
No damage estimate was immediately released.
“Restoring the dome will be a long process, measured in months, not weeks,” Shetrone said in the press release.
Other telescopes on the mountain were not directly damaged and will continue with scientific operation, UC said.
But the observatory will be closed to visitors until assessments are complete and the building is confirmed to be structurally sound, the university said.
The telescope was made possible by a donation from San Francisco millionaire James Lick. The damage was the most serious in the telescope’s 137-year history, the university said.
Lick serves astronomers from all nine UC campuses, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
It also serves as the university’s chief research facility for developing new instruments and new technologies for optical astronomy.
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