Broken Cable Damages Arecibo Observatory

[toast]

Quote

The National Science Foundation facility is closed while engineers review the damage and assess the extent of repairs that will be needed to bring the telescope back online.

One of the auxiliary cables that helps support a metal platform in place above the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, broke on Monday (Aug. 10) causing a 100-foot-long gash on the telescope’s reflector dish. Operations at the UCF-managed observatory are stopped until repairs can be made.

The break occurred about 2:45 a.m. When the three-inch cable fell it also damaged about 6-8 panels in the Gregorian Dome and twisted the platform used to access the dome. It is not yet clear what caused the cable to break.

UCFTODAY

 

[SHaYap]

"aliens"

~

[+OverSword]

That sucks.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

In recent times the biggest threat to Arecebo has been the many budget cuts that it has suffered over more than a decade. In 2017 the observatory suffered minor damage from a hurricane, but because of it's limited budget it was feared that this would lead to the observatory being shut down. Fortunately the money was found

Even though the damage appears worse this time, I actually think that the funding will be found to fix it. The reason I think this is because China has recently started operating an even larger radio telescope. Arecebo will be saved not for scientific reasons but political ones.

[Still Waters]

Latest:

Quote

A second cable fails at NSF's Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico

A main cable that supports the Arecibo Observatory broke Friday at 7:39 p.m. Puerto Rico time.

Unlike the auxiliary cable that failed at the same facility on Aug. 10, this main cable did not slip out of its socket. It broke and fell onto the reflector dish below, causing additional damage to the dish and other nearby cables. Both cables were connected to the same support tower. No one was hurt, and engineers are already working to determine the best way to stabilize the structure.

A safety zone has been set up around the dish out of an abundance of caution and only personnel needed to respond to the incident are allowed onsite.

Officials haven't determined why the main cable broke, but they suspect it is related to the extra load the remaining cables have been carrying since August.

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-cable-nsf-arecibo-observatory-puerto.html

 

[Eldorado]

Heartbreaking news. After 57 years as a world-class resource for astronomy, the iconic Arecibo telescope is to be decommissioned, or withdrawn from service, the NSF announced today. The dish-type radio telescope – built into a natural depression in the landscape in Puerto Rico – appears to be headed for a “controlled disassembly.”

EarthSky

[Seti42]

End of an era. That's sad, but probably for the best at this point. I mean, it's apparently a danger and we have other, more advanced radio telescopes now.

[Twin]

The future is in off-world hardware.  Time to move on.

[Eldorado]

After two cable failures in the span of four months, Puerto Rico's most venerable astronomy facility, the Arecibo radio telescope, has collapsed in an uncontrolled structural failure.

Space dot com

 

[Myles]

Time to scrap it.

[RoofGardener]

That's really sad  

[jethrofloyd]

Aliens are coming soon. To repair what was damaged.

[bmk1245]

Sad news.

But with more robust and flexible radiotelescopes like ALMA and VLA (and FAST, for that matter), ain't that big disaster.

[Seti42]

(Pours one out for Arecibo.)

Edited December 3, 2020 by Seti42

[jethrofloyd]

 

[Still Waters]

Puerto Rico's Arecibo Observatory 'not closing' after collapse

Quote

Puerto Rico's Arecibo Observatory could still have a future after its vast telescope dramatically collapsed this week, US officials said Thursday.

The structure was destroyed on Tuesday when its 900-ton receiver platform, which was suspended 450 feet (140 meters) in the air, fell loose and plunged onto the radio dish below.

Ralph Gaume, director of the US National Science Foundation's division of astronomical sciences, said "the NSF is not closing the Arecibo Observatory."

https://phys.org/news/2020-12-puerto-rico-arecibo-observatory-collapse.html

[Eldorado]

The moment it collapses.

 

[+Desertrat56]

On 8/12/2020 at 4:21 PM, Waspie_Dwarf said:

In recent times the biggest threat to Arecebo has been the many budget cuts that it has suffered over more than a decade. In 2017 the observatory suffered minor damage from a hurricane, but because of it's limited budget it was feared that this would lead to the observatory being shut down. Fortunately the money was found

Even though the damage appears worse this time, I actually think that the funding will be found to fix it. The reason I think this is because China has recently started operating an even larger radio telescope. Arecebo will be saved not for scientific reasons but political ones.

Arecibo is not the only large array in the northern western hemisphere, they may not find the money.