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Operations at the Arecibo Observatory (pictured here in spring 2019) are halted as engineers assess damage to a cable that broke in November 2020.
(University of Central Florida)
- Operations at one of the world’s largest radio telescopes are suspended.
- The facility tracks asteroids near Earth.
- Located in Puerto Rico, it has been hit by hurricanes and earthquakes.
Operations at a giant telescope that tracks asteroids near Earth and is famous for sending a message to aliens have been suspended after two cables that helped support the facility have failed in recent months.
The latest cable break at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico occurred on Friday, following a similar incident in August. Both caused damage to the telescope’s massive reflector dish, which covers about 20 acres of land, according to a University of Central Florida press release.
“This is certainly not what we wanted to see, but the important thing is that no one was hurt,” Francisco Cordova, the director of the observatory, said in the statement.
UCF is part of a consortium that manages the facility, built in the 1960s.
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Abused for decades by hurricanes, storms and earthquakes, cable breaks are the latest blow to one of the world’s most powerful radio telescopes. It was closed for several months after Hurricane Maria in 2017, according to space.com. And earlier this year, the telescope shut down in January and part of February due to a series of earthquakes that hit Puerto Rico.
Repairs from the August cable break were due to begin this week.
“Now this,” said Cordova. “There is a lot of uncertainty until we are able to stabilize the facility. He has our full attention. We are evaluating the situation with our experts and hope to have more things to share soon.”
Arecibo is used for scientific research and to track asteroids near the Earth. But it is probably best known for a message that was transmitted from the telescope to the edge of the Milky Way in 1974 as part of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, or SETI, program.
The cause of the cable break remains under investigation, but officials believe the second broke due to the additional load on it after the first failed, according to UCF. The cables and platform they support have been closely monitored since August, and broken wires on the main cable were known to fail on Friday.
In the meantime, a safety zone has been set up around the antenna and the only people allowed on site are those who respond to the incident.
Cordova said the telescope will return to its mission, but it is unknown how long the repairs may take.
“This is not good, but we are committed to getting the facility back online,” he said. “It is simply too important a tool for the advancement of science.”
A cable break in August damaged the massive reflector of the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. A second outage caused further damage in November.
(University of Central Florida)
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