[wideminded]

Wikipedia says that the receiving antenna platform weighs 900 tons and is suspended by cables almost 500 feet above the reflector dish. I wonder how that would do in a hurricane.

[dayglored]

900 tons suspended on cables??? Yikes!!

[jjotto]

http://newsroom.usra.edu/usra-update-on-arecibo-observatory/

...We have no reason to believe that staff sheltered at Arecibo Observatory are in immediate danger since they have generators, well water and plenty of food...

[AmusedBystander]

ET send aid!

[wardamneagle]

Probably bigger priorities than a damn telescope.

[wardamneagle]

Probably bigger priorities than a damn telescope.

[RegulatorCountry]

Any structure built on an exposed mountaintop is going to be built to withstand some fairly intense wind. They were not unaware that Puerto Rico was subject to tropical storms and hurricanes.

[mrsmith]

“... if a hurricane struck, the whole feed could be raised and lowered. “
http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Arecibo_Observatory
Seems the danger is to the reflector, not the ‘900 ton’ receiver.

The eyewall of a Cat 3 hit the observatory in 1998.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_Hurricane_Georges_in_Puerto_Rico

[Hurricane]

Been there when we lived in PR. The dish is as impressive as the corkscrew road is to get there.

[DoughtyOne]

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[steve86]

I read in another article the max gust at the town of Arecibo was 110 mph compared to the 108 quoted above. That should not be much of a problem if normal wind mitigation efforts were completed. Gusts at the observatory might have been higher but I am curious about how water runoff is handled at the center of that huge reflector / rain capture device.

[DoughtyOne]

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