![]() Drones will provide photo surveys that help with the planning. The NSF plan must meet legal, safety, cultural and environmental requirements. The process to decommission a telescope is a complicated one. This will allow the observatory to serve as a hub for research and education in the future. While the telescope will be decommissioned, the NSF plans to preserve as much of the observatory as it can. “Over its lifetime, Arecibo Observatory has helped transform our understanding of the ionosphere, showing us how density, composition and other factors interact to shape this critical region where Earth’s atmosphere meets space,” said Michael Wiltberger, head of NSF’s Geospace Section, in a statement.įortunately, archival data from the telescope will be migrated to servers outside of the danger zone, continuing the tradition of research and discovery by the telescope for years to come. More recently, Arecibo detected organic molecules in a distant galaxy and discovered the first repeating fast radio burst. What's sending mysterious repeating fast radio bursts in space? Observations made by the telescope helped discover the first binary pulsar in 1974 (which led to the 1993 Nobel Prize in physics), supported NASA’s Viking mission, produced the first radar maps of Venus’ surface and spotted the first exoplanet in 1992. Over the years, Arecibo Observatory has revealed new details about our planet’s ionosphere, the solar system and worlds beyond it. And that is a line we cannot cross,” said Ralph Gaume, director of NSF’s Division of Astronomical Sciences, in a statement. ![]() But in the end, a preponderance of data showed that we simply could not do this safely. “Until these assessments came in, our question was not if the observatory should be repaired but how. The Arecibo telescope played a key role in discovering the first planet outside our solar system and has helped astronomers identify potentially hazardous asteroids en route to Earth. The telescope has supported and contributed to important discoveries in radio astronomy as well as planetary and solar system research, including gravitational waves. Giant asteroid flying by Earth next week looks like it's wearing a face mask Range-Doppler radar image of asteroid 1998 OR2. It is operated and managed by a team at the University of Central Florida, the Universidad Ana G. The observatory, which was featured in the James Bond film “GoldenEye,” was completed in 1963 and has been helmed by the NSF since 1970. The observatory has withstood hurricanes, earthquakes and tropical storms over the years. ![]() While no direct cause for the breaks has been identified, corrosion is suspected as the main issue. While this is a profound change, we will be looking for ways to assist the scientific community and maintain that strong relationship with the people of Puerto Rico.” “For nearly six decades, the Arecibo Observatory has served as a beacon for breakthrough science and what a partnership with a community can look like. ![]() “NSF prioritizes the safety of workers, Arecibo Observatory’s staff and visitors, which makes this decision necessary, although unfortunate,” said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan in a statement. Arecibo Observatory damaged by broken cable in Arecibo, Puerto Rico Arecibo ObservatoryĪrecibo Observatory featured in James Bond film "Goldeneye" shut down
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