Arecibo

[Dave Lloyd]

Has anyone heard that the Arecibo radio telescope is being dismantled after a couple of cable failures. That old beast has been there some years. Very sad. 

Edited November 19, 2020 by Dave Lloyd

[Guest]

Yes, I just read about it.

https://apnews.com/article/puerto-rico-radio-telescrope-to-close-b63df9ec84a876ab1c2e665f20e402e4

Bad news. 

 

[andrew s]

Yes sad news. I went to Puerto Rico several times with work but never managed to get to see the telescope as it was too remote. 

On the bright side a number of new radio telescopes have just or are about to come on line.

ET will just have to wait a little longer for the call.

Regards  Andrew 

[maw lod qan]

I had seen an article discussing the damage that happened, but didnt realize it would be retired!

 

[Nigella Bryant]

Yes, very sad indeed. I remember Carl Sagan speaking from there. 

One of astronomy’s most renowned telescopes — the 305-metre-wide radio telescope at Arecibo, Puerto Rico — is permanently closing. Engineers cannot find a safe way to repair it after two cables supporting the structure suddenly and catastrophically broke, one in August and one in early November.

It is the end of one of the most iconic and scientifically productive telescopes in the history of astronomy — and scientists are mourning its loss.

[JamesF]

Not to mention that it starred in a Bond film :)

James

[Sunshine]

I am surprised it survived this long, imagine the upkeep of that behemoth to keep nature from overrunning it.

[Dave Lloyd]

I remember telling my junior school teacher it was about 1000 feet across and being disbelieved. I wonder now if maybe she thought it was a steerable dish like Jodrell Bank. 

[gilesco]

They're going to upload the 12 Petabytes of data that the telescope has gathered during it's lifetime to the cloud.

That is a lot of data, much of it not fully analysed, so even without the telescope, the project is going to be going on for quite a while yet.

[Nicola Hannah Butterfield]

10 hours ago, Nigella Bryant said:

Yhe 305-metre-wide radio telescope at Arecibo, Puerto Rico — is permanently closing. Engineers cannot find a safe way to repair it after two cables supporting the structure suddenly and catastrophically broke, one in August and one in early November.

 

So is this a case of lost ancient technology then.

[Nigella Bryant]

29 minutes ago, Nicola Hannah Butterfield said:

So is this a case of lost ancient technology then.

Probably the two incidents weakened the whole structure to the extent that it's unable to be repaired due to cost.

[gilesco]

2 minutes ago, Nigella Bryant said:

Probably the two incidents weakened the whole structure to the extent that it's unable to be repaired due to cost.

Well, yes, to do it safely would cost as much as rebuilding from new, doing anything to try and fix it will risk another cable snap, those things snap with catastrophic force which would easily be fatal, so you don't want to be anywhere near the vicinity if it is at risk of it happening.

I do hope they secure funds to build something even better.

[Nigella Bryant]

5 minutes ago, gilesco said:

Well, yes, to do it safely would cost as much as rebuilding from new, doing anything to try and fix it will risk another cable snap, those things snap with catastrophic force which would easily be fatal, so you don't want to be anywhere near the vicinity if it is at risk of it happening.

I do hope they secure funds to build something even better.

They'll probably be thinking of putting it on the moon if rebuilt, lol. 

[Nicola Hannah Butterfield]

15 minutes ago, Nigella Bryant said:

Probably the two incidents weakened the whole structure to the extent that it's unable to be repaired due to cost.

It was a joke.

11 minutes ago, gilesco said:

Well, yes, to do it safely would cost as much as rebuilding from new, doing anything to try and fix it will risk another cable snap, those things snap with catastrophic force which would easily be fatal, so you don't want to be anywhere near the vicinity if it is at risk of it happening.

I do hope they secure funds to build something even better.

I do understand a little about forces under tension.

 

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Very sad news indeed. The FAST telescope must now fill the void left by Arecibo

[ollypenrice]

I was about to make the same post having read this article. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/11/famed-arecibo-telescope-brink-collapse-will-be-dismantled?fbclid=IwAR1F6P5P7jqRzXf_K1UWys0vQBsF08WOYbRWmnpR1orVtaZbCFtE72Vc8i4

A shame when we lose a great instrument, especially such an exotic one.

Perhaps it could be turned into a jungle skateboard park!

Olly

[Guest]

At over 50 years old it's earned it's keep. Perhaps this is good opportunity to build something better.

[niallk]

It seemed to play an invaluable role in asteroid orbit estimation and imaging via radar. 

A real shame to hear of it's demise.  Could be costly to humanity...

[wuthton]

No injuries or fatalities have been reported as the collapse has been expected but it's horrible to see such an iconic structure in such a sad state.

 

[Moonshed]

It’s so sad to see, as you say an iconic structure, collapse to the ground, like saying goodbye to an old friend.

[reezeh]

That's pretty bad news, but glad nobody has been hurt

[LukeSkywatcher]

The huge radio telescope build kind of into the landscape?. Oh, I see now in the top image. It was the top of it collapsed into the dish. 

 

Edited December 1, 2020 by LukeSkywatcher

[Mr Spock]

It was only a matter of time. Just pleased no-one was injured.

[JamesF]

A great shame, but not surprising I think.  When it was announced that it wasn't safe to attempt a repair a short while back they said that it could collapse at any moment.

James

[RobertI]

One of the world's great observatories. A sad end.