It happened in less than 10 seconds, 2 years ago today: Arecibo Observatory from 1,000 feet collapsed radio mast, The removal of one of the most famous radio observation sources in the world.
In 57 years of operation in northern Puerto Rico, he Find a radio telescope New exoplanet, creating radar maps of other worlds in our solar system, observing fast radio bursts and supporting the search for intelligent life beyond Earth.
More recently NASA’s Arecibo data has been used Bold (and successful!) DART missions., which saw a small spacecraft collide with an asteroid, changing its trajectory. The data also supports the OSIRIS-REx mission, in which a spacecraft takes rock samples from a distant asteroid.
In the weeks leading up to the December 1, 2020 collapse, cables connected to the 900-ton observatory platform above the dish snapped. dramatic The video shows the moment of critical failure. The sound captured the screams and groans of the huge building as it ripped through the air and crashed, crashing into the 450-foot slab.
The site’s destruction didn’t come as a complete surprise. two weeks before breakup, Two support cables are disconnected on the plate, spoil it. There was still hope that the Hulk would stabilize, but he did announced the nation’s scientific foundation The plate will be destroyed. But before that could happen, the structure collapsed on itself.
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“I am still very saddened by the loss of Arecibo. It’s a large research facility that produces pulsars and many other things and is practically irreplaceable for American researchers,” said Scott Ransom, astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Ransom’s job is to time the flashes of pulsars, or stellar remnants rapidly rotating, to understand large-scale phenomena such as gravitational wave ripples. this research Includes radio wave data collected by Arecibo.
Ransom added that the collapse was an “even greater loss to the island of Puerto Rico.” “It’s a world-class facility right in their backyard that has inspired so many Puerto Ricans that they, too, can do scientific research on the front lines.”
In October, however, a new line was mapped for the Arecibo plant. The National Science Foundation says a destroyed telescope site is imminent Become a learning centerit is scheduled to open in 2023. NSF is collecting proposals for an education center but has not announced plans to put a more active science infrastructure on the site.
“On the one hand, I obviously believe that having more STEM educational opportunities will only be a positive development, so I support initiatives like this,” said Dom Pesci, an astrophysicist at the Harvard Black Hole Initiative. He emails Gizmodo. “On the other hand, the proposed structure seems to me a weak substitute for what was lost at Arecibo, and does little to fill the scientific gap left by the loss of the large disc.”
“The Arecibo telescope has become a cultural icon and an inspiration to many young scientists,” Pesci added. “Without investing in a new science infrastructure to replace it, which the NSF app seems to explicitly rule out, I can only imagine that new educational facilities will suffer from the very real difference between being able to say, ‘Come here and see all the amazing science that we have. do’.” ! vs. “Come here and see all the amazing science we used to do!”
NSF application (which can be read here) calls for $5 million in funding, and proposals will be accepted by February 2023. The paper shows no financial support for Arecibo’s other science operations, namely the lidar facility and 36-foot radio telescope that are still very much intact . But the radio astronomy community has robbed it of its flagship.
“This site is still good for science, so I hope it will be used again one day,” added Ransom. One possibility is that there will be more dishes ngVLAassuming it will build.
What will happen to Arecibo – even what this proposed educational center will look like – is not yet clear. Radio astronomy is worse off for the disc’s unfortunate ending, even if the decades-old data it collects will remain an asset to science for years to come. to come
Read more: Arecibo Observatory’s Biggest Victory
