SAN JOSE, Calif. – Winds gusting up to 114 mph tore through the skies on Christmas, tearing off half the shutter on a dome atop Lick Observatory, according to the University of California at Santa Cruz.
As a result, the university decided to temporarily close Lick Observatory because of the damage to the Great Refractor dome, after the shutter section fell onto the roof of the Great Hall, crushing several structure beams.
A donation by San Francisco millionaire James Lick enabled the construction of the Great Refractor, which the university said was considered the most powerful telescope in the world at the time. …