Major Telescope on Puerto Rico Collapsed

An important telescope collapsed on the night from Monday to Tuesday. A platform weighing hundreds of tons has fallen down near the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico.

 

Also, it probably destroyed a large part of the installation. The exact extent of the damage remains to be seen. Because the accident happened in the night, no one was injured.

Arecibo was used, among other things, for research into the universe and to search for signals of extraterrestrial life. The telescope is operated by the US National Science Foundation (NSF). He says he is saddened by what happened and that he is still working on research.

Arecibo was the largest telescope installation in the world until a few years ago. The dish measures 305 meters in diameter. The telescope was severely damaged by a hurricane a few years ago.

In August this year, a cable with the main instruments snapped, and another cable broke in November. The damage was so significant that Arecibo could no longer be saved. That is why it was already decided a few weeks ago that the installation would be dismantled.

Arecibo was also where the closing fight in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye was filmed.