Recent damage to the Arecibo telescope could keep it offline for months – Engadget

In line with Dwelling News, the cable weighed about 30 kilograms (about 66 kilos) per meter, and bigger than 200 meters of cable fell onto the dish. “That’s several a spread of cloth crashing down on the dish,” Johnson said. 

Arecibo Observatory remains to be assessing the damage, and the National science Basis (NSF) will lead the repair work. As Gizmodo experiences, entirely about 250 major reflector panels were damaged (the dish is fitted with 40,000 panels). But repairs will be extra complicated if the platform old to entry formulation of the telescope is unsafe.

Whereas the telescope is out of commission, some study, be pleased NASA’s project to watch terminate to-Earth asteroids, is on sustain. This is another setback for Arecibo, the second greatest radio telescope within the arena, which has confronted monetary woes and used to be damaged right via Storm Maria. It’s for the time being being managed by the College of Central Florida.

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