The National Science Foundation, which owns the observatory that is managed by the University of Central Florida, said crews who evaluated the structure after the first incident determined that the remaining cables could handle the additional weight. In other words, hopes are that a new telescope will be built to replace it. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1449240174198-2'); }); The telescope's 900-ton receiver platform and the Gregorian dome—a structure as tall as a four-story building that houses secondary reflectors—fell onto the northern portion of the vast reflector dish more than 400 feet below. It's not clear what might have damaged the cables. "(The National Science Foundation) did the best that they could with what they have.". It was too much for the old girl to take.". About 250 scientists worldwide had been using the observatory when it closed in August, including Méndez, who was studying stars to detect habitable planets. "It sounded like a rumble. The main cable that broke was attached to the same tower where the aux cable failed. It's a very deep, terrible feeling.". But it's no small task. An auxiliary cable snapped in August, causing a 100-foot gash on the 1,000-foot-wide (305-meter-wide) dish and damaged the receiver platform that hung above it. Can iron form via processes like the r- or s-process? I'll note that in 1988, the 100-meter radio telescope in Green Bank West Virginia collapsed. Update your browser for more security and the best experience on this site. On 10 August 2020, one of the auxiliary cables slipped from its post and fell to the ground. NASA scientists are using satellite data to help federal and local agencies identify areas with potential damage. "It was a chapter of my life.". The venerable Arecibo radio telescope, a mammoth 305-meter dish nestled in the forested hills of Puerto Rico, is to be decommissioned after a pair of cables that support a huge platform above the dish broke. "I'm trying to recover," he said. Days after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked Puerto Rico, followed by hundreds of aftershocks, the full extent of damage is only beginning to be realized. The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, the largest single-dish radio telescope in the world, was damaged Monday when an auxiliary cable that supports the suspended platform broke… SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A huge radio telescope in Puerto Rico that has long played a key role in astronomical discoveries collapsed on Tuesday, officials said. Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email. "I am one of those students who visited it when young and got inspired," said Abel Méndez, a physics and astrobiology professor at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo who has used the telescope for research. "It was a snowball effect," he said. and Terms of Use. A dozen auxiliary cables were installed to support the extra weight, attached to the three towers along with the main cables. This satellite image provided by 2020 Maxar Technologies shows the damaged radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2020. Credit: UCF. NASA’s Disasters Program has delivered to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) a map of areas in eastern Puerto … There are historical buildings under one tower that need to be preserved, for example. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The telescope was featured in many movies and TV shows, including the James Bond movie Goldeneye, the brilliant science fiction film Contact, and the Doctor Who episode "The Ambassadors of Death. But also, Arecibo has been around my whole life, and was such a versatile and well-loved instrument. The content is provided for information purposes only. Each tower has four main cables attached to support the platform, so there are 12 in all. In personal terms, well, I'm bummed. The ineractive map makes it easy to navitgate around the globe. PlanetLabs SkySat satellite image of the Arecibo radio telescope taken on 10 August 2020. "When engineers advised NSF that the structure was unstable and presented a danger to work teams and Arecibo staff, we took their warnings seriously.". Comics Wire: Marvel's next X-Men era, and King in Black. When it fell it damaged the dish, tearing a 30-meter gash in it, and also damaged several of the panels making up the Gregorian dome.