{"id":125761,"date":"2020-12-04T00:21:24","date_gmt":"2020-12-03T21:21:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/puerto-ricos-arecibo-observatory-not-closing-after-collapse\/"},"modified":"2020-12-04T00:21:24","modified_gmt":"2020-12-03T21:21:24","slug":"puerto-ricos-arecibo-observatory-not-closing-after-collapse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/puerto-ricos-arecibo-observatory-not-closing-after-collapse\/","title":{"rendered":"#Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory ‘not closing’ after collapse"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory ‘not closing’ after collapse<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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\"The
\n The instrument platform of the Arecibo Observatory telescope falls through the air after cables broke
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Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory could still have a future after its vast telescope dramatically collapsed this week, US officials said Thursday.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Ralph Gaume, director of the US National Science<\/a> Foundation’s division of astronomical sciences, said “the NSF is not closing the Arecibo Observatory.”<\/p>\n

“The NSF is deeply saddened by the situation,” he told reporters, adding that the agency “has a very well-defined process for funding and constructing large-scale infrastructure including telescopes… it’s very early for us to comment on the replacement.”<\/p>\n

Engineers had recently warned of the telescope’s decrepit condition, and the NSF announced only last month that it would be dismantled.<\/p>\n

Two of the cables that held the platform over the radio dish\u2014which measures 1,000 feet (300 meters) in diameter\u2014had snapp<\/a>ed this year, and the structure finally gave way on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n

Video footage showed the final cables breaking, and the platform swinging down onto the radio dish before a cloud of dust erupts.<\/p>\n

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\"Engineers
\n Engineers had recently warned of the telescope’s decrepit condition
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The telescope was one of the largest in the world and has been a tool for many astronomical discoveries since the 1960s.<\/p>\n

An action scene from the James Bond film “GoldenEye” featuring Pierce Brosnan was filming at the site.<\/p>\n\n

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Huge Puerto Rico radio telescope, already damaged, collapses\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \u00a9 2020 AFP<\/p>\n

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Citation<\/strong>:
\n Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory ‘not closing’ after collapse (2020, December 3)
\n retrieved 3 December 2020
\n from https:\/\/phys.org\/news<\/a>\/2020-12-puerto-rico-arecibo-observatory-collapse.html<\/p>\n

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\n part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n