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An icon of astronomy was recently lost to us. This dome of Earth, this hemisphere of exploration, this pinnacle of technology will be torn down after almost 60 years of service.
Due to its futuristic design and gargantuan scale, it attained a position in popular culture that was reinforced by it being the setting for the climax of the 1995 Bond film GoldenEye.
Following this, it became a popular tourist destination and was listed on the US National Register of Historic Places. Its returns to science were immensely tangible as well, ranging from the search for extraterrestrial intelligence to the discovery of potential Earth collision threats.
But I’m getting ahead of myself! In this post, we’ll learn more about the history of this fabulous observatory, the impacts that it had on science, and why it is meeting its end.
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The Arecibo Radio Observatory was a revolutionary astronomy observatory built into a natural sinkhole, constructing a mirrored, half-circle surface from which radio waves could bounce off. With its dish measuring 1,000 ft across, it was the largest single-dish observatory until 2016.
Complementing this immense size was an equally incredible engineering marvel, a movable reciever 500 ft above the main dish balanced on seemingly spindly supports with plenty of cables allowing for more dextrous maneuvering.
Credit: Space.com
The story of how this imemense telescope was created is quite interesting. Its development began as a potential anti-ballistic missile (ABM) defense mechanism during the peak of the Cold War. Now, you may ask, “but Pranet, what does a radio observatory have to do with detecting nuclear warheads?”
Essentially, when a ballistic missile re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it plunges through the various layers including the *drumroll please* ionosphere. This thin film of charged particles would interact with the warhead, causing unique physical signatures that could easily be read to form.
Credit: ResearchGate
However, in the 1950s, people didn’t know much about the ionosphere. As a result, a facility to study the ionosphere had to be developed.
In order to secure a large enough dish that would have enough power to accurately study this layer, the project leaders were drawn to the natural sinkholes formed in Puerto Rico. This would enable them to get a large receiver without having to construct one from scratch.
Construction began in 1960, with paneling being installed in the sinkhole to form a smooth, reflective base, followed up by several supports around the dish that control the motion of the receiver. It was finally opened on the 1st of November, 1963.
Over the years, the observatory continuously underwent upgrades that enabled it to have a far more tangible impact on science, such as increasing the reflectivity of the surface, adding a mesh screen to prevent outer radiation, and adding more powerful transmitters.
Throughout its lifespan, the observatory made several incredible tangible returns to science. Here’s a brief list of the various research it conducted:
- Provided the first solid evidence of neutron stars
- Provided a corrected measure of Mercury’s orbital period
- Directly imaged an asteroid for the first time
- Discovered the first extrasolar planets
- Discovered molecules of life in other galaxies in the universe
- Discovered the fastest-spinning pulsar
- Sent message to (potential?) extraterrestrial life
With such a comprehensive list of research and discovery, you may be asking, “but why is it being torn down?” The answer to that question traces back to 2010 and climate change.
You see, as the climate continues to hurtle towards a worrisome trajectory, the frequency and power of cyclonic storms (more commonly known in the Atlantic as hurricanes) continue to increase. As the budget of the observatory reduced, subsequent storms from 2010 onwards weakened aspects of it, making it more and more difficult to rebuild.
In 2017, Hurricane Maria damaged 30 of the aluminum reflectors on the dish. Restoring this damage took more money than the current budget could handle, so the ownership of the observatory was shifted to a colloquium of investors, primary among them the University of Central Florida.
Although this provided temporary relief, the final nail in the coffin of this observatory came in August 2020 with the breakage of a cable, causing a 100 ft gash to appear on the reflective surface. Although the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began to design a solution, on November 7th another cable broke, shattering a part of the disk itself.
Credit: CNET
With expenses mounting and a safe recovery looking impossible, the final verdict was that the observatory had to be decommissioned.
Although this is tremendously sad news for the astronomy community, I believe we must still be optimistic. The observatory had an incredible run with plenty of incredible science; we must appreciate its returns and look with optimism to the future rather than to the present with dejection. As a species, we will keep going, and we will keep finding out more about our universe; as a door closes, a window opens; as an observatory shuts down, another will be built, and we will keep moving forward.
I hope you all stay safe over the holiday weekend.
Clear skies!
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