Lick Observatory Telescope Braces for New Storm After Damage

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The Lick Observatory's historic 36-inch refractor telescope on Mount Hamilton in Santa Clara County, California, suffered severe damage to its dome during a powerful storm in late December. With more wet weather forecast to hit the Bay Area in the coming days, the observatory has now installed a temporary cover to protect the telescope and its sensitive equipment from further damage.

Why it matters

The Lick Observatory has been an important center of astronomical research for nearly 140 years, and the 36-inch refractor telescope is a key part of its operations. Protecting this historic instrument from the elements is crucial to ensuring the observatory can continue its work, especially as climate change brings more extreme weather events to the region.

The details

In the December storm, wind gusts over 100 mph tore off half of the shutter on the Great Refractor Dome, damaging the dome and leaving the telescope's lenses and electrical systems exposed to the rain. While the telescope itself was not damaged, the observatory needed to act quickly to install a temporary cover to protect it ahead of the next round of wet weather forecast to hit the Bay Area.

• On Christmas Day 2025, the Lick Observatory's dome was severely damaged by high winds.
• On February 3-4, 2026, the observatory installed a temporary cover for the 36-inch refractor telescope dome.

What’s next

The observatory staff and engineers are working on permanent fixes to the dome to fully protect the telescope from future storms.