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“The platform crashed unexpectedly,” said Rob Margetta, a spokesperson for the American National Science Foundation, which funds the observatory.
Two cables supporting the 900-tonne telescopic instruments on a platform above the 305-meter-diameter dish broke on August 10 and November 6, respectively, for an unknown reason. The fallen cables pierced the satellite dish.
At that time, the telescope was considered too unstable and irreparable, and the institution decided to demolish the structure. Access has since been denied for fear of a sudden collapse, which finally occurred just before 8am local time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fzMGk_y_Xc
“It’s an absolute disaster,” said Professor Abel Méndez, director of the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo.
Unlike optical telescopes, radio telescopes work day and night, even in cloudy weather.
Until 2016, this radio telescope was the largest simple telescope ever built. It has collected radio astronomy, terrestrial aeronomy and planetary radar data for scientists around the world.
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