The world’s most powerful telescope has been damaged by cable snaps, creating a 100-foot hole

Arecibo Observatory, the most powerful telescope in the world, based in Puerto Rico, was damaged Monday after a cable snapped and cut a large hole in the telescope’s reflective disk.

The University of Central Florida manages the facilities of the National Science Foundation, along with Universidad Ana G. Mendez and Yang Enterprises. Located in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, the telescope was still undergoing Hurricane Marie repairs in 2017. Despite raising $ 14 million to the observatory, the facility reopened seven days after the storm.

According to a UCF news report, a submarine cable that helps support the metal platform above the observatory broke at 2:45 a.m. Monday. When the cable fell, it damaged six to eight panels in the Gregorian dome, most of the dish, and spun platform workers to gain access to the dome. Officials do not know what caused the cable to break.

The Observatory’s reflective dish is one of the largest in the world at 1000 feet in diameter and 167 feet deep. It covers an area of ​​about 20 acres, according to UCF. For years, Arecibo was also the largest telescope, but earlier this year China opened its FAST Observatory, which spans more than 1,600 feet.

Photos shared by UCF show the extent of the damage when a large gaping hole was cut through the dome. It is unclear how long repairs will take, as the damage is still being assessed.

The damaged Observatory will be a huge blow to the radio astronomy community and scientists who rely on it for research into understanding the universe.

Arecibo is used by scientists all over the world for research into astronomy, planetary science, tracking asteroids in the area and more.

Prior to this incident, the telescope survived several natural disasters, including hurricanes and earthquakes.