Arecibo RIP

[stealth6]

Huge Puerto Rico radio telescope collapses; many mourning (phys.org)

s6

 

[Titan II]

Arecibo

https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=301674

www.rocketryforum.com

 

[HHaase]

Just saw that in another reference. Hopefully nobody got hurt. To see the whole gondola gone now is quite sad. I'm sure the photos we'll be seeing in the next few days will just be heartbreaking.

-Hans

 

[Cl(VII)]

Pics of collapse

 

[heada]

He explains why it they decided to not try and fix it. Looks like the decision was the right one.

 

[heada]

 

[Marc_G]

It's dead, Jim.

 

[kuririn]

Instead of Rest In Peace it's Rest in Pieces.

 

[Nytrunner]

I think the cables made more of a pop/snap sound than a rip

 

[PatD]

I think the cables made more of a pop/snap sound than a rip

Heard a 1.25 inch steel cable let go under heavy strain close by one time. Sounded like a rifle round went off. There's a reason you stand at least 2 cable lengths away from it.

 

[neil_w]

Video! Just about as spectacular as you'd imagine.

NSF releases footage from the moment Arecibo’s cables failed

Two different cameras, with one capturing a close-up of the cables snapping.

arstechnica.com

 

[georgegassaway]

So, video of the collapse:

Article accompanying video:

Crazy Video Footage Shows The Exact Moment The Arecibo Radio Telescope Collapsed

Different views show cables breaking apart, sending the 900-ton instrument platform falling hundreds of feet into the reflector dish below.

www.thedrive.com

 

[kuririn]

Wow. Good find Neil.
I hope they demolish and rebuild a better one, assuming Congress has the political will to allocate the funds.

EDIT: Not a scientist, but after doing a little reading perhaps large ground based radio telescopes might not be the best approach. A network of space based radio telescopes using Very Long Baseline Inteferometry could in effect create a large telescope as big as the diameter of the earth.. Perhaps a joint international effort?

 

[kuririn]

Interesting article:
NASA weighing options for future planetary radar capabilities after Arecibo - SpaceNews


Excerpt:
"Johnson argued that the closure of Arecibo presents an opportunity to examine the future of planetary radar systems. “It’s really time to be looking at the next generation of planetary radar capabilities,” he said. That’s likely to use arrays of smaller dishes rather than one monolithic dish, like Arecibo."

(Arecibo was not just a passive radio telescope, but also had radar mapping capability).

 

[billdz]

As a ham radio op, I recall several years ago they allowed a group of hams to use the telescope a/k/a parabolic dish antenna for 70cm EME (moonbounce). I was able to hear their voices (SSB) off the moon with a single yagi. It was the only time I have ever heard SSB via EME.