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Engineers had recently warned of the extremely poor condition of this massive structure, and the US National Science Foundation (NSF) announced last month that the telescope would be dismantled.
Earlier this year, two cables holding the rig above a 305 meter diameter “plate” that reflected radio waves broke. On Tuesday morning, the entire receiver structure fell to the ground.
Photos of the incident show rising dust clouds.
“We can confirm that the platform is down and that we have no reports of casualties.” We will release additional details when they are approved, “NSF spokesman Rob Margetta told AFP.
This radio telescope was one of the largest in the world. It has helped make many astronomical discoveries since the 1970s, as well as being famous for its size and scenery.
One of the action scenes in James Bond’s GoldenEye takes place high above the telescope plate, and in Contact, an astronomer played by Jodie Foster searched the observatory for signs of extraterrestrial civilization.
“Great loss to the world”
Abel Méndez, director of the Planetary Life Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico, Aresibe, said that the platform fell 8 hours ago. local time (2 pm Lithuanian).
He described the incident as a “total disaster”.
“This observatory teaches Many students are taught astronomy at this observatory; they, like me, are inspired to choose a career in science and astronomy, ”said Méndez.
“The loss of the Aresibo telescope is a great loss for the world, but an even greater loss for Puerto Rico. It is a symbol of our island ”, emphasized the scientist.
The telescope was operational until August of this year. Investigators have urged NSF to reverse its decision to close the complex.
In August, when one of the support ropes detached from the support tower, a 30-meter-long indentation was left in the plate.
Engineers figured out how to assess and repair the damage, but on November 6, one of the main support cables that were connected to the same support tower broke.
Before Tuesday’s incident, preparations were underway for a controlled demolition to avoid an unexpected collapse.
One of the scientific achievements associated with this telescope was the first discovery of the exoplanet in 1992. In 1981, the Aresibo telescope was used to make the first map of the surface of Venus by scanning it with radio rays.
The observatory’s website states that the telescope is “the world’s leading research complex in radio astronomy, solar radar, and atmospheric physics, making a significant contribution to the collection of data of great relevance to scientific discovery, innovation and progress. “.
“During its existence, the Aresibo Observatory has transformed our understanding of the ionosphere,” said Michael Wiltberger, head of NSF’s geocosmology unit.
The management of the complex hoped that the plan to dismantle the telescope would allow to preserve other parts of the observatory for future research and educational purposes.
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