Update October 14 , 2022 : The US National Science Foundation has confirm the Aricebo Observatory will not be rebuild , or else aneducational center for STEMwill be built on its web site .
The American National Science Foundation ( NSF ) hasannounced its intentionto demolish the elephantine Arecibo Observatory , which for many years was the largest telescope in the world . The conclusion has nevertheless unleashed a torrent ofonline regret . Not only was Arecibo the site of X of important enquiry but it also stood as a symbol of astronomy as a whole . A last - ditch campaign is being mounted to carry Congress to fund the repair now , but most observers are pessimistic .
The 305 - meter ( 1,000 - metrical unit ) Arecibo telescope was open in 1963 , occupy a swallow hole in northerly Puerto Rico . Until the mental synthesis of China ’s 500 - m ( 1,640 - infantry ) Aperture Spherical Telescope ( FAST ) , it was the largest single - dish telescope in the world . Arecibo contributed to almost every area of uranology , with highlights including ratification of neutron stars , the rotation of Mercury , the first pulsar to be found to have planets , and the search for extraterrestrial life . It also sent humanity’slargest signalbeamed in the slim promise extraterrestrial being might find us , an action some condemned as foolhardy . If a civilization in the M13 globular cluster has a receiver the size of it of Arecibo , they may learn of our comportment in 21,000 class .
The immense size of the dish has seen it used in aBond filmas well as the more intuitiveContactand theX - Files .
Tribute to Arecibo ? ﾟﾌﾌ?pic.twitter.com / NC3xCE3lkH
increase upkeep costs and budget squeezes have seen the lookout ’s future threaten several times , but the get-go of the ending came in August when asnapped cableripped a 30 - meter ( 100 - foot ) gash in the reflector dish . The ( apparently ) terminal drinking straw came last calendar week when asecond cablefrom the same support tower break .
The NSF is concerned tests of the long suit of remaining cables would range workers at risk . “ In the close , a preponderance of datum showed that we plainly could not do this safely . And that is a line we can not scotch , ” the NSF ’s Ralph Gaume said in astatement . Others dispute this , but even if a safe way can be found , the money may not be there to make it happen .
Despite the arrival of radio telescope array , the opening of the FAST shows there is still demand for bountiful dishes .
Although a fleet of giant newfangled optical telescopes areunder constructionand theSquare Kilometer Arraywill be far more herculean than Aricebo could ever be , no scope in the domain can currently replace Arecibo ’s electrical capacity for radar mapping asteroids and other planets . Even for map where they can oppose Arecibo , other telescope are over - booked so projects with clock time scheduled on the gargantuan peach may wait years before they can get their datum .
Arecibo ’s loss will also be a blow to Puerto Rico . The island ’s economy was in wretched anatomy even before Hurricane Maria make the death of 3,000 people and led to mass emigration . The observatory created employment and attracted tourist .
Not all the news is bad for historical telescope , however . In the same calendar month as Arecibo had the first cable break , the Lick Observatory wasthreatenedby California ’s fires . In the end , thanks to lucky winds and the heroic effort of local firefighter , the facility made it through . Soon after fires strain one of thesupport buildingsof another iconic California scope atMount Wilson . Not only did the observation tower live but it also became atemporary sanctuaryfor a bear combust out of its usual habitat .
