Scientists are still studying the information collected by the astronomical observatory, located near the north coast of the island.
Two years after the collapse of the Arecibo radio telescope structure, the future of the site, located on the north coast of the island of Puerto Rico, is still uncertain.
On December 1, 2020, the radio telescope, built in 1963, suffered the rupture of the two main cables, which were the support of the 900-tonne platform, and collapsed, putting an end to a unique source of scientific information, since it was considered the most powerful and sensitive planetary radar in the world.
project in door
The US National Science Foundation (NSF) scrapped its redevelopment and instead announced that the site would be used as a new multidisciplinary educational center.
“Without investment in new scientific infrastructure to replace it, which the NSF request seems to explicitly exclude, I can only imagine that the new educational facility will inevitably suffer from the very tangible difference between being able to say, ‘Come over here and look at all the science we’re doing!’ doing!’ versus ‘come over here and look at all the science we used to do!'” Harvard University astrophysicist Dom Pesce said in an interview with Gizmodo.
As part of the initial funding of $5 million, the NSF has not detailed whether the resources will be used for the lidar installation or even for the 11-meter radio telescope, which was undamaged after much of the structure collapsed.
“The site is still suitable for science, so I am hoping that at some point in the future it will be used for that again.“Said Scott Ransom, an astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
Scientists are still studying the information collected by the Arecibo radio telescope, which provided key data on dangerous asteroids Y it gave clues to the formation and evolution of the solar system.
Source: RT
