General
Arecibo Observatory telescope to be closed down after suffering damage from falling support cables
The US National Science Foundation (NSF) says it will close down the massive space telescope at Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory, ending 57 years of astronomical discoveries, after suffering two destructive mishaps in recent months.
Key points:
- A supportive cable slipped from its socket in August, falling and gashing a large hole in the telescope’s reflector dish
- Another cable then broke in early November, causing more damage
- The telescope helped detect asteroid Bennu, laying the groundwork for NASA to collect samples from it with a robotic probe
Operations at the observatory, one of the largest in the world, were halted in August when one of its supportive cables slipped loose from its socket, falling and gashing a 30-metre hole in the…
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