Posted on 12/02/2020 6:41:52 AM PST by Red Badger
This aerial view shows the damage to the Arecibo Observatory after its 900-ton equipment platform broke loose, swung into a nearby rock face, and smashed onto the radio dish below.
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The Arecibo Observatory’s suspended equipment platform fell hundreds of feet and crashed through the giant radio dish.
The Arecibo Observatory’s suspended equipment platform collapsed just before 8 a.m. local time on December 1, falling more than 450 feet and crashing through the telescope’s massive radio dish—a catastrophic ending that scientists and engineers feared was imminent after multiple cables supporting the platform unexpectedly broke in recent months. No one was hurt when the 900-ton platform lost its battle with gravity, according to staff at the observatory in Puerto Rico.
The telescope itself has been destroyed, although the full extent of the damage to surrounding facilities hasn’t yet been determined. Aerial photos show that the platform likely made a pendulous swing into a nearby rock face. Parts of it, including a large dome housing a complex reflector system, shattered near the dish’s center. Photos from the ground reveal that the tops of the three towers supporting the platform also broke off. People nearby reported that as the platform came down, it sounded like an avalanche, a train, or an earthquake.
“We can confirm the platform fell and that we have reports of no injuries. We will release additional details as they are confirmed,” says Robert Margutta of the National Science Foundation (NSF), which is in charge of the facility.
The iconic telescope has been in a precarious state since August, when an auxiliary cable supporting the equipment platform broke and fell through the radio dish, leaving a 100-foot-long gash in its reflective panels. The situation became more dire in early November, when one of the main cables supporting the equipment platform also snapped, leaving the telescope on the brink of a catastrophic collapse. Inspections revealed that other cables were showing signs of weakening and degradation, and over the last couple of weeks, engineers spotted ruptured strands and other signs of impending danger.
On November 19, NSF announced that it had decided to decommission the telescope and pursue options for a controlled demolition of the dangerous structure. That decision came after engineering firms evaluated the structure and predicted that the platform would collapse in the near future if it were not repaired.
With the risk of imminent collapse, authorities determined that it was too risky to send workers up on the platform or the towers to attempt repairs. Today’sPopular Stories ScienceCoronavirus Coverage Already had the coronavirus? You could get it again. Environment Ginkgo trees nearly went extinct. Here’s how we saved these ‘living fossils.’ History & Culture One in six Americans could go hungry in 2020 as pandemic persists
“If we’re worried about it falling, nobody should go up there or be there when it happens,” former observatory director Michael Nolan, now at the University of Arizona, told National Geographic at the time.
“As someone who was inspired as a child by the observatory to reach for the stars, this is devastating and heartbreaking. I’ve seen how the observatory to this day continues to inspire my island,” planetary scientist Edgard Rivera-Valentin of the Lunar and Planetary Institute said at the time. Rivera-Valentin tweeted today that they are "heart broken, sad, in mourning, and crying," following the observatory's collapse.
The NSF’s decision to decommission the telescope didn’t stop scientists and Puerto Ricans, for whom the telescope holds cultural as well as scientific value, to rally in support of the observatory. For decades, the facility has been a source of pride and inspiration for the island, and it has served as a crucial resource for local communities during natural disasters. Now, the crumpled telescope leaves a large, dangerous mess to clean up—and, perhaps, a site upon which to rebuild.
Anne Virkki, who leads the planetary radar team at the observatory, writes in an email: “We’ll need to start campaigning for rebuilding from today.”
Editor's Note: This story has been updated with additional information about the telescope platform's collapse.
Ping!.........................
Which James Bond movie was that featured in?
Goldeneye.
I think it was 'The Spy That Died Tomorrow' or somethng like that
Take the debris and pile it next to all the water bottles.
With Sean Bean as 006-Trevelyan the descendant of Lienz Cossacks.
I don’t know, I rarely watch Double Naught Spy movies.............
I think it was ‘The Spy That Died Tomorrow’ or somethng like that
Goldeneye. Best Nintendo 64 game at the time.
Well, it could be rebuilt,
there is a premade perfect site at Winslow, NM
3,900 feet across and 560 feet deep
Wouldn’t have to fight the jungle all the time either,
easily accessed, and very dry climate
A large number of (slightly radioactive) smaller conical indentations are available a bit north of Mercury, Nevada at Nevada Testing site that might be repurposed as radio-observatories
Guess ET won’t be able to phone home.
I loved them as a kid.
BTW, I listened to “Moonraker” as an audio book a couple of months ago. It was severely dated (it’s actually a pretty old book) and the movie took serious license to upgrade it and make it relevant for the time.
People forget that James Bond was really a 50’s thing. The first book was in 1952 (Casino Royale).
With Joe Don Baker.
Aliens don’t like to have their privacy violated.
The American.
Wow what a shame. Time to buy a new one I guess. (/sarc-off)
There's a really nice one in Arizona, too...................
Just realized that totally went over my read upon slower reading...
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