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An iconic piece of the history of astronomy and space research will soon disappear. The 1,000-foot radio dish at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico has suffered too much damage to be safely repaired and will be disabled. The telescope and its huge array are iconic, and its loss is a blow to many who have gazed at the sky.
The Arecibo facility was established in the 1950s, the radio telescope in its first form was completed in 1963, and was eventually expanded and modified to become the largest radio antenna in the world, not outdated until 2016 when in China a 1,600-foot-diameter dish was opened. The observatory has appeared in films such as Contact but more importantly, it served as a vital tool for astronomers and scientists around the world.
The matrix searched for asteroids, observed planets and stars. Most famously, the Arecibo radio telescope was a key tool for SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and they both relayed messages deep into space hoping that someone would hear and hear any signal from distant worlds.
But with that kind of inheritance comes age and telescope wear. In August a cable above the matrix, made up of thousands of smaller reflective dishes, broke and fell, tearing a hole in the dish. Then, on November 6, one of the main steel cables holding the dish together broke, leading officials to fear that the entire array could collapse. These cables weigh more than 15,000 pounds and are now in extremely dangerous condition. Any attempt to repair them could be fatal to workers and could only further damage the array.
“While it saddens us to make this recommendation, we believe the facility should be demolished in a controlled manner as soon as pragmatically possible,” wrote Thornton Tomasetti, who was hired to assess the damage. “Therefore, it is our recommendation to quickly plan the dismantling of the observatory and perform a controlled demolition of the telescope.” This led to the National Science Foundation making the difficult decision to dismantle the telescope.
But that’s not the end for Arecibo. Even if the radio telescope will be disassembled, work will continue there in the future. There are other discoveries to be made, but the loss of this incredible tool still hurts and was a blow.
(via: Gizmod0, Image: RICARDO ARDUENGO / AFP via Getty Images)
Here are some more things going on this week among the stars!
- Last week we talked about shining Europe in this space, but it could also have geysers! (via Earthsky)
- And NASA and Space X talked today about some of the upcoming experiments they’re working on. (via space)
- Mercury is finally coming out of Libra to enter Scorpio … it might not seem great for the communication planet to go from balanced to pungent Scorpio, but hey, it could mean the end of talking about things and looking for “both sides” and getting right away. to say what we all mean.
- Early next week, the crescent gibbous moon will be right next to Mars (after a beautiful projection last night near Jupiter and Saturn). Check it out from 24 to 25.
What did you see in the stars this week?
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