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The collapse of the iconic radio telescope at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico last month left astronomers with a host of questions about what went wrong and what will follow.
At a virtual town hall event held at the 237th American Astronomical Society Conference on Monday, Jan.11, officials from the National Science Foundation (NSF), which owns the facility, offered the narrative on more detailed to date of events leading to the uncontrolled collapse of the telescope December 1.
The event was the agency’s first presentation to researchers since the facility collapsed, and officials highlighted their connection to scientists from all over the world who had ties to Arecibo. “At NSF, we are extremely grateful that the safety zones were adequate and that no one was physically injured,” Ashley Zauderer, Arecibo Observatory Program Director at NSF, said during the presentation.
Related: Loss of Arecibo observatory would create hole that cannot be filled, scientists say
“I say ‘physically injured’ because we want to clearly communicate that we understand it was a very traumatic event, which impacted a lot of people,” Zauderer said. “There is a lot of harm.”
Zauderer’s comments were aimed at giving astronomers a detailed idea of the events surrounding the collapse, with a timeline starting in 2017, when hurricanes Irma and Maria beat Puerto Rico. The facility was preparing to begin repairing the resulting damage when a cable failed in August. (Hurricane repairs included replacing another cable connected to a different support tower than the cables that ultimately failed in the course of the collapse scenario.)
But then, before dawn on August 10, one of the massive cables holding the 900-ton science platform slipped from its socket. Engineers assessed the situation, determined that the structure still needed to be stable, and began to design a repair strategy. Meanwhile, the investigation into what went wrong has also started, Zauderer said.
“This faulty socket was removed and sent to the NASA Kennedy lab for forensic analysis in early October to try to understand why it failed and to help us understand that other sockets are potentially at risk as well.” , she said.
Again, a repair plan was put in place and the facility prepared to begin work only to endure disaster again, when another cable connected to the same tower broke on November 6. . Following the second failure, NSF concluded that there was no safe way. at stabilize or save the installation and began evaluating ways to shut down the telescope in a controlled manner, a move he announced on Nov. 19, though Zauderer told the assembled astronomers that the NSF still had hope.
Related: Puerto Rican scientists mourn loss of iconic Arecibo Observatory telescope
“Even though we had stated that we were planning to decommission at this point, we were still looking for more information, so if new information came to reveal that there was a safe way to repair the telescope,” we were ready to change, ”she said. .
This change was never possible; the platform collapsed across the 1,000-foot-wide (305-meter) dish below it on December 1, destroying the radio telescope.
“It’s not what each of us wanted,” Zauderer said. “NSF has worked very hard since August to enable a stabilization plan.”
The future of the site is still unknown, although Congress joins astronomers and Puerto Ricans who have requested an update on the facility – what happened, what NSF wants to do with the observatory and associated cost estimates – by the end of February. The request is part of the omnibus bill that funds the agency during this fiscal year, which ends on September 30; Ralph Gaume, director of the Astronomical Sciences Division at NSF, referred to Congress’ request during mayoral, but did not provide details on how the NSF will fulfill it.
Zauderer told Space.com that teams had started evaluating how to safely clean up the site on the day of the collapse. “The work is progressing very actively, but will take a long time due to the amount of debris and the need to proceed in safety and with appropriate environmental protection measures,” she wrote.
But Zauderer noted during the presentation that the collapse did not completely destroy the radio telescope’s iconic antenna. “About 50% of the reflector is still intact,” she said. “We plan, at this point, to weigh the pros and cons of keeping a part, of rebuilding or of what can be done with it.”
Email Meghan Bartels at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @meghanbartels. follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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