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The powerful Arecibo telescope will be closed forever, the US National Science Foundation has decided.
But the radio telescope that brought us confirmation of the first exoplanet in 1992 will undoubtedly live on in the hearts and minds of scientists, many of whom have taken to social media to mourn the end of an era and celebrate how Arecibo had changed their lives and inspired their careers.
The iconic radio telescope was the world’s largest for decades, and it has withstood a few hurricanes as well as pop culture fame in its 57 years of broadcasting interstellar messages and receiving wave signals. radio from space.
Sadly, the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the United States decided it could not safely repair the telescope after two surprise cable failures, one in August and the other in early November, which tore Gigantic holes in Arecibo’s 305-meter-wide (1,000-foot) reflector antenna. .
“For nearly six decades, the Arecibo Observatory has served as a beacon for groundbreaking science and what partnering with a community can look like,” NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan said in a statement announcing the decision. switch off the telescope.
Scientists are suffocated by the news and have flooded social media with posts under the hashtag #WhatAreciboMeansToMe
“What I like most about my work with Arecibo is the way it is a community institution,” said astronomer Kevin Ortiz Ceballos of the University of Puerto Rico. “[I]you have widened Puerto Rican participation in science immeasurably. ”
#WhatAreciboMeansToMe: More than a telescope, Arecibo is why I’m even into astronomy, and has had an untold impact in PR communities. A thread ?. pic.twitter.com/GOFGXAlQ3o
– Kevin Ortiz Ceballos ?? (@kortizceballos) November 19, 2020
Arecibo Observatory, named after its closest town on the north coast of Puerto Rico, has become a major center for science education and has also provided invaluable training opportunities for many aspiring Puerto Rican scientists.
Among Arecibo’s greatest achievements was the sighting of the first set of binary pulsar stars in 1974, a discovery that would pave the way for the detection of gravitational waves for the first time, some 40 years later.
It was also the scene of first dates and wedding ceremonies, Hollywood movie sets and eye-opening school trips.
#To receive has always meant so much to me, growing up as a little kid obsessed with astronomy in public relations. As an undergrad I got to attend an observation session which was more than cool. 10 years ago I got married @AstroAhura at the observatory. The dismantling is so sad ?#WhatAreciboMeansToMe pic.twitter.com/g4JlYq3tk0
– Emily Alicea-Muñoz, PhD (@drealiceam) November 19, 2020
The Arecibo Observatory is part of Puerto Rican culture and has given Puerto Ricans the opportunity to do science in their own backyard, said Kelby D. Palencia-Torres, physics student at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez.
“It’s more than an icon, a tool, a structure, it’s a community that was built without barriers. Connecting people from all over the world… also inspiring young children to explore,” he said.
The Arecibo Observatory taught me about friendships, what it means to be inclusive and diverse, but also that science has no barriers. With people all over the world working for because of this innate feeling that we as humans share for the cosmos. pic.twitter.com/k0CK0DdqoM
– AstroBay (@KlbTheScientist) November 19, 2020
Puerto Rican scientist Junellie González Quiles, now a doctoral student at Johns Hopkins University, told how she was inspired to study astronomy after astronomers with telescopes from the Arecibo Observatory visited her summer camp.
“It sparked an interest that only grew over the years, and my goal was to do research at the Arecibo Observatory when I was older.” said González Quiles, who then attended the Arecibo Observatory Space Academy.
“If it had not been for this program at the Arecibo Observatory, I would not be where I am today”, she said. said. “I wouldn’t be a graduate student. It changed my life.”
It is evident from the #WhatAreciboMeansToMe post feed that Arecibo has not only galvanized generations of planetary scientists, astronomers, and astrophysicists; it has also inspired leagues of biologists, engineers and instrumentalists.
Botanist Amelia Merced said visiting the Arecibo Observatory on a school excursion made her realize that she could be a scientist.
“The presence of this tiny island’s largest telescope, listening to the universe in search of life. It sounded like a dream but it was real,” Merced said.
que van a demolerlo ? do you have any idea how many Puerto Rican children were inspired by this structure and are now scientists, it is not just scientific equipment, it is part of our culture and part of our pride.
todosepudreenelvagondelacolonia https://t.co/COPVWCr1vL
– Dr. Amelia Merced (@AmeliaMerced) November 19, 2020
Shark scientist Melissa Cristina Márquez also reflected on what Arecibo meant to her as a Puerto Rican who pursued a scientific career all the way to Curtin University in Australia.
“It was more than a telescope to me. It was a ray of hope – that the things and people made in #PuertoRico could thrive on the world stage, ”she said. said.
“Arecibo showed me that we matter. I am so proud of this telescope and all it stands for.”
As sad as it is to see the great Arecibo dismantled, the telescope will surely remain a staple for the role it played in our search for extraterrestrial life and the hunt for gravitational waves.
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