Arecibo Observatory Collapses

The Arecibo Observatory, built-in 1963 in Puerto Rico, collapsed after its structural integrity deteriorated.

The US-based National Science Foundation (NSF), which is responsible for the Observatory, announced the news via its social media account. The huge observatory, which had a 305-meter diameter slab, was scheduled to be demolished due to irreparable damage to its structure.

Following August November 2 failures, NSF issued a controlled demolition order, ruling that its repair posed an extreme risk to workers.

The collapse was reported to have been caused by a rupture in Tower 4, which had lost two of the tensioned ropes that held the platform suspended. Arecibo was considered the largest in the world until the FAST telescope in China, with a diameter of 500 meters, was unveiled in 2016.

"TELESCOPE AT RISK OF COLLAPSE”

“The telescope is at risk of imminent, and uncontrolled collapse” Ralph Gaume, director of the NSF Department of Astronomical Sciences, said in a statement.

Gaume admitted that attempts to stabilize or test the cables, according to technical reports, could have hastened a catastrophic accident, explaining that he had been warned that in the near future Arecibo would collapse on its own.

The Observatory, which has been in operation for 57 years and has had many important Nobel Laureates, helped to pinpoint the mercury day cycle in 1964, changing it from 88 to 59 days.

During the mission, Arecibo gave the first evidence of the existence of neutron stars, making possible the discovery of the first binary pulsar and the fastest rotating Pulsar. Arecibo had helped obtain the first direct image of an asteroid in 1989.

Arecibo was also in a very important position due to its role in planetary defense. It was carrying out the task of detecting and tracking asteroids approaching Earth. “It cannot be easily replaced by other existing facilities and tools,” Anne Virkki, who leads the planetary radar team at the Observatory, said in a statement.