Damage To The Arecibo Observatory Telescope Stops Scientists' Research

Teleskop Arecibo Observatory (dok. University of Central Flordia)

JAKARTA - The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, was finally damaged and completely destroyed. His task of helping scientists find images of extraterrestrial life came to an end.

Launching the BBC website, the giant Arecibo telescope finally stopped operating, since it was built in 1963. The operational discontinuation of the planet's telescope and radar transmitter was due to damage from storms and earthquakes that occurred in recent years.

"Our team has been working tirelessly to find ways to stabilize the telescope while minimizing the risk. While these results are not what we are pursuing and we are disappointed to see important scientific resources being disabled, safety is our top priority," said the President of The US National Science Foundation. NSF) Alexander N. Cartwright.

seconds of the fall of the Arecibo instrument (doc. National Space Foundation)

The monster telescope consists of a radio dish 1,000 feet wide with an instrument platform suspended 450 feet above it. The platform is hung by cables and connected to three towers which then fell on December 2 yesterday.

Following this, two supporting cables were cut from the main structure of the Arecibo telescope. "When the 900 tonne instrument platform fell, the telescope support cable fell too."

Even though it was repaired, the break of the main support cable for the Arecibo instrument poses a dangerous risk and has the potential to injure construction workers there. That is the basis for the closure of the Arecibo Observatory on November 22.

"The top priority is to maintain site safety, carry out a complete damage assessment as quickly as possible, and take action to contain and reduce environmental damage caused by structures or materials," said the NSF.

The Arecibo Observatory has been used for scientific research and tracking asteroids that are close to Earth. This telescope is also famous for being used to send signals into space, as part of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program to detect other life beyond Earth.

To date, the SETI experiment remains the main project on the observatory agenda. The Arecibo telescope is also part of the NASA program to detect and study objects near Earth, such as asteroids that pose a threat to our planet.

"While telescopes are an important part of the facility, the observatory has other scientific and educational infrastructure that NSF will work on with stakeholders online," he added.