Milland
Diamond
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2006
- Location
- Hillsboro, New Hampshire
The Arecibo Observatory, a radio wavelength telescope made famous in movies and pop culture was, much more importantly, the premier astronomical observatory for planetary observation and finding and tracking near Earth orbit asteroids.
Damaged months ago by failing support cables, last night the suspended structures critical to its work finally collapsed, destroying this amazing device.
Arecibo Observatory Telescope Collapses, Ending An Era Of World-Class Research : NPR
A video giving a decent review of the likely failure mode: Arecibo Radio Telescope Collapses! - YouTube
I hope that the new Administration will make a commitment to rebuilding a new, more capable observatory on this site, restoring the ability to find and calculate the trajectories of wandering asteroids and such.
Damaged months ago by failing support cables, last night the suspended structures critical to its work finally collapsed, destroying this amazing device.
Arecibo Observatory Telescope Collapses, Ending An Era Of World-Class Research : NPR
A video giving a decent review of the likely failure mode: Arecibo Radio Telescope Collapses! - YouTube
I hope that the new Administration will make a commitment to rebuilding a new, more capable observatory on this site, restoring the ability to find and calculate the trajectories of wandering asteroids and such.