The damaged Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico has collapsed. The 900 tonne platform with the receiver fell over 100 meters and landed on the saucer.
The observatory had already been abandoned after previous damage and was to be dismantled.
The collapse was not entirely unexpected because last weekend the wires of the cables supporting the colossus had already been snapped. This led to a snowball effect, says employee Johathan Friedman, who worked as a researcher with the telescope for 26 years and still lives in the area.
Friedman heard rumbling this morning and immediately knew what was going on. “I was screaming, I was out of my mind … I had a deep, terrible feeling.”
Arecibo was used by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for research into the universe. From 1963 to 2016 it was the largest telescope in the world. Cables already snapped in August and October, after which NSF decided to close the observatory.
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