The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has decided not to rebuild the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The Arecibo Observatory closed in August 2020 due to damage caused three years ago.
Instead, NSF has solicited offers to establish a “new world-class multidisciplinary learning center” for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The Recibo Center for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education and Research (ACSER), as the center is called, “is a center for STEM discovery and research building on existing programs and opportunities currently underway at the site. of the Arecibo Observatory. It will act as a facilitator, as well as create and implement new programs and initiatives for education, research and outreach in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. “
The Arecibo Observatory was completed in 1963. The main instrument, the Arecibo radio telescope, at 305 meters (1,000 feet), was named China’s 500-meter aperture spherical telescope (FAST or Tianyan) in 2016. The observatories they played a role in many important scientific discoveries, including the discovery of the first binary pulsar.
After being damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017, Arecibo remained in operation until 2020, when a heavy cable fell and damaged the telescope’s main mast. Efforts to preserve the telescope failed and in November 2020 the decision was made to demolish the damaged structure.
“The scientific community has expressed broad support for the expansion of educational facilities,” the National Science Foundation said in a statement.
Dr John Barentin, astronomer and principal consultant for Dark Sky Consulting, said: registration Although not a radio astronomer, he said in an email that he sees the loss of Arecibo as a blow to the global astronomical research project.
“Although there are other similar structures, such as FAST in China, the Arecibo is a complete telescope that has not only collected data for astronomical and upper atmosphere studies, but has also generated new data throughout its history. also one of the most important test telescopes for technology. ”he said.
Barentin sees the telescope as a lesson in the long-term management of American scientific research facilities. “The surprising collapse of the instrument platform in December 2020 was dramatic, but the demise of the telescope has slowly changed over the years as federal support for the observatory has been gradually withdrawn,” she said.
“This isn’t the first time. The original Green Bank Telescope at the NRAO facility in West Virginia collapsed without warning in 1988.
While the instrument tower’s spectacular collapse in December 2020 was dramatic, the telescope’s demise has slowly advanced over the years.
According to Barentin, private funding has not proved sufficient to support Arecibo as it grows and becomes more needy. He argues that this is something the government should consider.
“Many radio, optical and infrared telescopes in the federally funded facility pool are the same age and their maintenance costs are increasing over time,” he said.
“This has to be weighed against their perceived scientific productivity. You see: science budgets have to make tough decisions to make progress. “
Dr Tracy Baker, leader of the research and development group at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) Department of Aerospace Science and Engineering, would have liked a different result.
He said in a telephone interview registration The decision not to reconstruct has important implications for all areas of science conducted by the Arecibo Observatory, in particular astronomy, planetary science, space and atmospheric observations.
“This is an unfortunate development as many of the Arecibo Observatory equipment is still functional,” Baker said. It is clear that the observatory, 305 meters high, was in poor condition after the collapse. “
“We have a LIDAR facility. We now have a 12-meter telescope in operation and it is making some very unique observations of the Sun and monitoring atmospheric agents in space. “
Many tools at the Arecibo Observatory are still functional
Becker said the Arecibo radio telescope has surpassed China’s speed in size, but remains the world’s most powerful radar system for planetary science. I think “.” A lot had been done before the collapse, but there is still a lot to do with a modest reinvestment in the facility. “
Becker said the decision not to rebuild affected all of the ongoing radar science at Arecibo.
“We were able to use radar to penetrate the clouds of Venus and actually study the surface. We looked at Mercury and found ice on the surface of Mercury. We were on a lunar reconnaissance. We were looking at the moon in the orbiter, we were studying Mars, obviously the most important thing is to study the asteroids and understand where those asteroids are and how big they are. “
Radar is a unique tool for this type of observation and measurement, Becker said, because it can determine an asteroid’s velocity and trajectory more accurately than other methods.
“Goldstone has this ability, but Arecibo was stronger, so people could have done it better,” he said. So it’s a very big loss ”.
Becker notes that Arecibo’s position near the equator is particularly valuable for ionosphere studies because it produces different data than structures found elsewhere.
He also said that the idea of moving Arecibo to an education center ignores the role the facility has played in promoting science education, which is said to have started.
There are no facilities, equipment and funding for scientists to work there.
“Much of the education that is already happening at Arecibo comes from the ability of these students to work directly with scientists and they already have major educational programs,” he said.
“But without the facilities and equipment, there would be no more funding for scientists to actually work there. You will suffer from the fact that the program already exists ”.
Becker said China’s FAST is the only other telescope that comes close to what Arecibo is doing. “I think the US should try to do better than what China is currently doing,” she said, adding that the Chinese FAST telescope does not yet have radar capability.
“But we have been doing it and have been doing it really well for decades,” he said. And I think that’s what we should do. “
