The famous Are Resibo Observatory Telescope in Puerto Rico, which was once starring in the James Bond film, crashed on Tuesday when its 900-ton receiver sank 450 feet (140 meters) on a radio dish below the platform.
Engineers recently warned of the dire state of the giant constitution, and the US National Science Foundation (NSF) announced just last month that it would be scrapped.
Two cables with platforms on the radio dish – a diameter of 1000 feet (300 meters) – broke this year and the structure finally made way on Tuesday morning.
The photographs showed dust clouds rising in the air and the remnants of telescope equipment scattered on the spot.
Aerial view of the damage at the Arecibo Observatory on 1 December 2020. (Ricardo Arduenggo / AFP)
“We can confirm the platform fell and we have no reports of injuries,” NSF spokesman Rob Margetta told AFP.
The telescope was one of the largest in the world and has been a tool for many astronomical discoveries since the 1960s, as well as being famous for its dramatic scale and setting.
An action scene from the Bond movie Golden New Pierce Brosnan’s feature was the high position above and inside the dish Contact, An astronomer played by Jodie Foster used the observatory in search of alien signs.
‘Sad Day for Astronomy’
Abel Mendez, director of the Planetary Habitat Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, said the platform collapsed just before 8:00 a.m. (1200 GMT) and described it as a “complete disaster.”
“Many students are trained in astronomy at the observatory, they are motivated to pursue a career in science and astronomy like me.”
“The loss of the Arecibo Telescope is a great loss to the world, but it is a further loss to Puerto Rico. It is a sign for our island.”
Damage to the Arecibo Observatory 305-meter telescope. (UCF)
The telescope operated for 57 years from August to August, and scientists lobbied the NSF to reverse its decision to close the site.
In August Gust, an auxiliary cable failed after slipping from its socket into a tower and leaving a 100-foot gas in the bottom dish.
Engineers were assessing the damage and how it would be repaired when the main cable connected to the same tower broke on November 6.
Prior to Tuesday, controlled demolition was planned to avoid unforeseen crashes.
The success of the telescope led to the discovery of the first exoplanet – an extraterrestrial planet – in 1992, and in 1981 it helped create the first radar map of the surface of Venus.
The observatory’s website said the telescope was “the world’s leading radio astronomy, solar system radar and atmospheric physics feature, providing highly relevant data to support discovery, innovation and scientific progress.”
“What a sad day for astronomy and planetary science worldwide and one of the world’s most iconic telescopes ever.” Tweeted Thomas Zarbuchen, Associate Administrator at NASA Science Mission Directorate.
The site hoped the dismantling plan would preserve other parts of the oversight rights for future research and education.
“As we move forward, we will find ways to help the scientific community and maintain strong relationships with the people of Puerto Rico.” The NSF said in a tweet.
ન્સી Agency France-Press
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