SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – Huge, aging cables supporting one of the world’s largest single-dish radio telescopes are slowly making their way to the U.S. Resolving in the region, the observatory known for its role in the discovery of astronomy is on the verge of collapse. .
The Territorial Arecibo Observatory above Sinhalese in Puerto Rico’s lush mountain range has a 1,000-foot (305-meter wide) dish featured in the Jodie Foster movie “Contact” and the James Bond movie “GoldenEye”. The dish and the dome suspended above it have been used to track and research asteroids heading to Earth, which led to the Nobel Prize and helped scientists determine whether a planet is habitable.
“I am horrified to have someone based on Arecibo for my science. This is a very worrying situation right now. Cascading is likely to be a catastrophic failure, said astronaut Scott Ransom, with the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves in collaboration with young people and scientists in Canada.
Last week, one of the telescope’s main steel cables, capable of sustaining 1.2 million pounds (544,000 kilograms), was sold for just under 624,000 pounds (283,000 kilograms). After the auxiliary cable broke in August, the failure further messed up the reflector dish, tearing a 100-foot hole and damaging the dome above it.
Officials said they were surprised because they evaluated the constitution in August Gust and believed it could control the change in weight based on previous observations.
It is a blow to the telescope used by more than 250 scientists around the world. The facility is also one of Puerto Rico’s main attractions, attracting about 90,000 visitors each year. Research from Nearby Gust has been postponed, including a project to help scientists discover galaxies near them.
The telescope was built in the 1960s and was funded by the Department of Defense amid pressure to develop anti-ballistic missile defense. It has survived half a century of disasters, including hurricanes and earthquakes. Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, was still undergoing repairs when the first cable broke.
Some new cables are due to arrive next month, but officials said funding for repairs has not been worked out with federal agencies. Scientists warn that time is running out. Now only a few cables support the 900-ton platform.
The University of Central Florida, which operates the facility, said: “Each of the remaining cables in the constitution is now supporting more weight than before, increasing the likelihood of a second cable failure, possibly leading to the collapse of the entire structure.” Of Central Florida, which operates the facility, said one. Statement Friday.
University officials say crew have already noticed wires breaking on the remaining two main cables. They warn that employees and contractors are at risk despite relying heavily on drones and remote cameras to assess damage.
The observatory has estimated the damage at more than 12 12 million, and an independent federal agency that owns the observatory is seeking money from the National Science Foundation.
Foundation spokesman Rob Margeta said engineering and cost estimates have not been finalized and funding for the repairs will include discussions with Congress and partners. He said the agency was “reviewing all recommendations for action on Arecibo.”
“The NSF is ultimately responsible for decisions related to the security of the constitution,” he said in an email. “Our priority is the safety of anyone on the site.”
University representatives and the observatory said the telescope’s director, Francisco Cardova, was not available for comment. In a Facebook post, the observatory said maintenance is advanced and the most recent external structural assessment since Hurricane Maria has taken place.
Probably the most recent loss is the debridement of the cable and carrying extra weight over time after the auxiliary cable breaks. The university has stated. In August Gust, that socket containing the cable failed, possibly the result of a manufacturing error, the observatory said.
Difficulties have disrupted the work of researchers such as Edgard Rivera-Valenton, a scientist at the Universal Space Research Association at Lunar and Planetary Institute in Texas. He planned to study Mars in September during a close approach to Earth.
“This was to be the nearest Mars, while by 2067 will also be observed from Arecibo.” “Next time I won’t be able to get this level of radar data.”
The observatory in Puerto Rico is considered crucial for the study of pulsars, the remnants of stars that can be used to detect gravitational waves, a phenomenon Albert Einstein predicted in his theory of general relativity. Telescopes are also used to detect neutral hydrogen, which can explain how certain cosmic formations form.
“It’s more than 500 years old, but it’s a very important instrument,” said Alex Walzakzan, a Polish-born astronomer and professor at Pennsylvania State University.
He helped discover the first extracellular and pulsar planets and credited the observatory with having a culture that allowed him to test the description described as wild ideas that sometimes work.
“Losing it is a very important blow to me. I think it’s a very important science,” Wolzkaz said.
An observatory astronomer in the 1980s and early 1990s, Volzkazn still uses the telescope for specific work because it provides an unmatched blend of high frequency range and sensitivity that he said allows for a “wide array” of science projects. Is. Among them: observing the molecules of life, detecting radio emissions of stars and performing pulsar work.
The telescope was a training center for graduate students and was a favorite for its educational opportunities, said Carmen Pantoza, an astronomer and professor at the University of Puerto Rico, the island’s largest public university.
She relied on him for her doctoral thesis and remembered him shining in amazement when she was a young girl.
“I was haunted by how big and mysterious it was,” he said. “The future of the telescope depends largely on what position the National Science Foundation takes … I hope they can find a way and there is goodwill to save it.”
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