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This photo, provided by the Arecibo Observatory, shows the damage caused by a broken cable that supports a metal platform, leaving a 100-foot hole in the reflecting dish of the radio telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
AP
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A broken cable caused severe damage at Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory, causing a halt to operations for one of the world’s largest radio telescopes in the world, officials said.
The University of Central Florida, which manages the National Science Foundation’s facility, said in a statement that a cable that helps support a metal platform broke and caused a 30-meter (30-meter) hole on a reflector dish. The university said eight panels in the dome were also damaged and the platform used to access the dome has now been twisted.
The statement said it was unclear why the cable broke. The cost of the damage was not immediately known.
Scientists worldwide use the telescope to detect radio emissions emitted by objects such as stars and galaxies. It appeared in the Jodie Foster movie “Contact” and the James Bond movie “GoldenEye.”
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