Giant Puerto Rico radio telescope collapsed.
The Arecibo Observatory, a huge and previously damaged radio telescope in Puerto Rico that played a key role in astronomical discoveries for more than half a century, completely collapsed on Tuesday 01 December 2020.
The telescope's 900-ton receiver platform fell onto the reflector dish more than 400 feet below.
The U.S. National Science Foundation had earlier announced that the Arecibo Observatory would be closed. An auxiliary cable snapped in August, causing a 100-foot gash on the 1,000-foot-wide (305-meter-wide) reflector dish and damaged the receiver platform that hung above it. Then a main cable broke in early November.
The telescope was built in 1960 with the aids from US Defence Department amid a push to develop anti ballistic missile defences.
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment