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The famous Arecibo Observatory Puerto Rico suffered another heavy blow in a tough year that saw two broken cables damage the fragile dish.
The heart of the installation is a massive and delicate radio telescope built into the geology of the island and surrounded by jungle. The Arecibo Observatory has operated for more than five decades, including perhaps the most famous 1974 broadcast of the so-called Arecibo Message intended to update all intelligent life on our technical skills. But lately, the observatory has been beaten: first it suffered “relatively minor“damage during Hurricane Maria in 2017; this year it has already suffered a series of earthquakes in january then lost one of his thick cables, which broke and damaged the dish in August. Now another cable broke three months later.
“This is certainly not what we wanted to see, but the important thing is that no one gets hurt”, Francisco Cordova, the director of the observatory, said in a press release published by the University of Central Florida, which operates the facility.
Related: The Arecibo Observatory: the giant radio telescope of Puerto Rico in photos
“We have been thoughtful in our assessment and prioritized safety in planning the repairs that were to begin on Tuesday,” Cordova said, referring to work planned to fix the cable that broke in August. “Now this. There is a lot of uncertainty until we can stabilize the structure. He has our full attention. We are assessing the situation with our experts and hope to have more to share soon.”
According to the statement, the newly broken cable was one of the main support cables connecting to the same tower as the cable that damaged the antenna in August. This cable slipped out of its socket and potentially weighed down the cable, which broke completely on November 6 and damaged other cables and the main antenna, the university said.
The incident caused no injuries but prompted the observatory to limit access to the area. Now observatory staff are hoping to be able to install reinforcements to the tower to protect the other cables while assessing the additional repairs that will be needed.
“It’s not good, but we remain committed to bringing the facility back online,” Cordova said. “It is too important a tool for the advancement of science.”
Email Meghan Bartels at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @meghanbartels. follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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