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The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released two dramatic images of the collapse of the famous Arecibo Observatory, which fell on December 1 after 57 years of service.
The observatory, which was made famous by films like Contact me Golden eye, probed the outer reaches of the universe for signs of extraterrestrial life, scanned the skies for radio waves produced by otherwise invisible celestial phenomena, and tracked asteroids traversing our solar system. It is a devastating loss for Puerto Rico researchers, for the scientific community, and consequently for all of us.
The film is impressive, especially because of the deafening noise that echoes in the huge surrounding spaces. It shows the instant when the telescope’s support cables break, rolling the 900-ton platform into the 300-meter-wide dish below. The tops of the three towers that supported the platform also gave way, pushing a tide of debris along the parabola and several adjacent structures. Fortunately, no one was injured.
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The observatory, located in the green hills of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, was jointly managed by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the University of Central Florida. It opened in 1963 and has since made enormously significant contributions to scientific and astronomical research. In addition to the dish, the observatory houses a radio telescope of about 4 meters, a LIDAR structure and an educational center.
“We knew this was a possibility, but it is still heartbreaking to see,” Elizabeth Klonoff, UCF vice president for research, said in a December 1 statement. “Personnel safety is our number one priority. We already have engineers on site to help assess the damage and determine the stability and safety of the remaining structure. We will continue to work with the NSF and other stakeholders to find ways to support the scientific mission to Arecibo. “
The first sign of trouble came in August (we had also followed that situation, which at the time seemed inexplicable), when an auxiliary cable, one of 18 holding the instrument platform in place, broke and tore the 150 antenna. meters lower, causing significant damage. An evaluation carried out in the summer showed that the parable could be repaired. Arecibo staff quickly ordered a replacement cable and began to rehabilitate the facility.
RICARDO ARDUENGOfake images
Then on November 19 another cable broke and the decline of the structure began to be evident and irreversible. Too expensive and dangerous reconstruction for now. Funding from the National Science Foundation for this type of large-scale infrastructure involves grants from Congress and an assessment of the needs of the scientific community. The process takes several years and appears to take a long time, severely affecting the Puerto Rico research community, but not only them.
The Arecibo Observatory was one of the few instruments that could be used to closely observe objects potentially dangerous to Earth. Astronomers have long used radar systems like that to guess the composition of space objects, like asteroids. Knowing whether it is a massif of rock or a huge pile of rubble can make a big difference in quickly organizing any reaction plan.
Now that Arecibo is out of service, there are fewer resources available to make these observations. In California, the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Center, operated by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is the only radar transmitter with this capability.
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It is the end of an era in many ways. From unraveling the mysteries behind the rapid radio bursts bouncing through the universe, to hearing any sounds from distant civilizations that may one day try to contact us (it’s time to find us again Contact). Arecibo has made a number of critical contributions over the years and, in some cases, has completely changed our view of the cosmos.
But not only did he look out into the most remote darkness, he also saw ice deposits near Mercury’s North Pole and mapped the surface of Venus’ clouds in great detail.
With Arecibo in ruins, the universe seems smaller.
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