#Broken cable damages giant radio telescope in Puerto Rico

“#Broken cable damages giant radio telescope in Puerto Rico”

A broken cable caused severe damage at Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory, causing a suspension of operations for one of the world’s largest single-dish radio telescopes, officials said Tuesday.

The University of Central Florida, which manages the National Science Foundation facility, said in a statement that a cable that helps support a metal platform broke and caused a 100-foot (30-meter) gash on a reflector dish. The university said eight panels in the dome also were damaged and the platform used to access the dome is now twisted.

The statement said it was unclear why the cable broke. The cost of the damage wasn’t immediately known.
Scientists worldwide use the telescope to detect radio emissions emitted by objects such as stars and galaxies. It was featured in the Jodie Foster film “Contact” and the James Bond movie “GoldenEye.”

Citation:
Broken cable damages giant radio telescope in Puerto Rico (2020, August 11)
retrieved 11 August 2020
from https://phys.org/news/2020-08-broken-cable-giant-radio-telescope.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.