Unfortunately, this is not the first commitment that Arecibo has endured. It faced severe financial problems in 2008 and again in 2016. Then, like much of Puerto Rico, the observatory suffered significant damage during Hurricane Maria. Things began to turn around in 2018 when a group led by UCF took over from the National Science Foundation, and last year Arecibo received a $ 19 million grant from NASA.
It is unclear how long the observatory will be without commission or how much repairs will cost.
“We have a team of experts assessing the situation,” said Francisco Cordova, director of the observatory, in a statement. “Our focus is on ensuring the safety of our personnel, protecting the facilities and equipment, and restoring the facility as soon as possible after full operations so that it can continue to support scientists around the world.”
While Arecibo Observatory, built in the 1960s, is certainly not the newest telescope, nor the most advanced, it is still one of the largest in the world. According to Scientific American, it is especially good at finding gravitational waves and pulsars, and it has been used over and over again to better understand near-Earth asteroids. The observatory has certainly recovered from efforts in the past. Hopefully this time will not be any different.
