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After the National Scientific Foundation (NSF) announced last Thursday the demolition and decommissioning of the iconic Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico, scientists, experts and many Puerto Ricans turned to digital platforms to implore the government to save the 57-year-old man. observatory.
Many, including researchers and students, use #SaveTheAreciboObservatory and #WhatAreciboMeansToMe hashtags to share the impact of the observatory in their lives and in the scientific world. A Twitter account called Save the Arecibo Observatory was also created.
“#WhatAreciboMeansToMe: More than a telescope”, Kevin Ortiz, physics student at the University of Puerto Rico, written on twitter. For him, the observatory has had “an incalculable impact in PR communities”.
Organizations, including the Planetary Society, are also joining the conversation on social media. “The Arecibo Observatory has touched the lives of so many people. Its scientific achievements have enriched our understanding of the universe and helped protect our planet from asteroids,” the organization said in a tweet.
For Ortiz, the radio telescope is not only a Puerto Rican landmark, but it is also a symbol of inspiration.
“I had visited the observatory several times as a child and it is responsible for sparking my interest in astronomy,” Ortiz told ABC News.
The 22-year-old undergraduate student is in his final year at university and has worked as an astronomical researcher at the Planetary Habitability Laboratory for over two years. Planet HabLab is a virtual research and teaching laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo that uses the radio telescope to study the habitable universe.
“The observatory is very important for science in the world. It is also very important for education, training the new generation of students,” said Abel Méndez, professor at the University of Puerto Rico and director by Planet HabLab. “I train students to work at the observatory.”
Méndez, who helped guide Ortiz, trains students to work at the observatory by doing research. “They are learning to use the observatory,” Méndez added.
“I can walk around with people showing the observatory and it would be in the control room making observations,” Méndez explained of Ortiz’s work.
The revolutionary radio telescope has played a key role in tracking asteroids. Among the many accomplishments of the observatory is the discovery of the first extrasolar planets in 1992 and the first to see a planet orbiting a sun-like star in 1995.
The impact of the observatory has led many to join a petition submitted to the White House to keep the radio telescope operating.
“We urge urgent action for the Army Corps of Engineers or another agency to assess the structure of the telescope and find a safe way to stabilize it, to allow time for other actions to be considered and to lead. ” reads the petition, which has been signed by over 20,000 people.
Despite the structural damage reported to the telescope, Méndez and Ortiz say there may be a way to save the telescope.
Two cables holding the 900-ton platform suspended 450 feet above the ground broke, tearing the 1,000-foot reflector plate.
“We are not complaining about the technical evaluation, we know there are risks,” Méndez said.
Jenniffer Gonzalez, resident commissioner of Puerto Rico, wrote a letter to Congress asking for action to save the observatory. “We respectfully request that you allocate the necessary funds to allow NSF to continue to explore options to safely stabilize the structure and maintain the telescope and surrounding areas,” González’s letter said. “We understand that the funds could be used to stabilize and immediately work on repairs.”
Repairs to the auxiliary cables damaged in August were already underway, according to González’s letter.
“Our question was not whether the observatory should be repaired, but how. But in the end, a preponderance of data showed that we just couldn’t do it safely. And that’s a line. that we cannot cross, “NSF said in a press release last week. “Even with future repairs, engineers found that the structure would likely have long-term stability issues.”
Despite the NSF’s position, some scientists, including Méndez, believe that with a real commitment from several organizations, including the NSF, the telescope could be saved, restored or even rebuilt.
The radio telescope is the subject of a cooperative agreement between the University of Central Florida, which operates and manages the facility, Yang Enterprises, Inc., Ana G. Méndez University, and the federal entity, NSF.
For many experts, the harsh news of the telescope’s official shutdown was sad news, but not a surprising announcement.
Méndez says that in the past, the NSF has “cut funding to Arecibo and other observatories.” According to Méndez and Ortiz, the foundation has started funding more facilities with newer technology, leaving the observatory behind.
NSF told ABC News in a statement that it “has not cut funding for the observatory. On the contrary, in addition to the operating budget for the Arecibo Observatory, NSF has provided millions of dollars for new equipment and technologies, which represents an investment in the future of the observatory “.
“The decision to plan for decommissioning is necessary for safety reasons, and also gives NSF the ability to preserve as much infrastructure as possible for the future of science at the observatory,” the statement continued.
Three years ago, the foundation produced a plan to reduce Arecibo’s funding if new contributors made the offsetting investments, but the plan did not materialize, according to the NSF.
Some Arecibo Observatory programs that involve analysis and cataloging of archived data will continue to receive support from the NSF, the federal entity said.
Regardless of the multiple roadblocks, the scientific community, students and Puerto Ricans say they will keep pushing until something is done to preserve the observatory. “Arecibo is a facility absolutely worth saving,” Ortiz said. “It is an essential instrument for planetary protection and planetary defense … to track asteroids close to Earth.”
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