The famous Arecibo radio telescope on the American island of Puerto Rico, used by astronomers around the world and which had made it possible to discover the first planets orbiting a star other than the Sun, collapsed Tuesday after 57 Years of service Two cables supporting the 900-ton telescope instruments on a platform above the 305-meter-diameter parabola had broken on August 10 and November 6, for an unknown cause. The falling cables had pierced the satellite dish. The telescope was then deemed too unstable and unrepairable, and the institution made the decision to demolish the structure. Access had since been banned for fear of a sudden collapse, which finally happened shortly before 8 local time on Tuesday. The Arecibo observation station will not close despite the collapse, officials of the site assured Thursday, without giving further details on its future. / AFP, Ricardo Arduengo.
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