- #1
- 14,808
- 9,174
- TL;DR Summary
- Analysis of the Arecibo telescope collapse
Last edited:
When I reply to your original message, I see this in the YouTube link - 3oBCtTv6yOw, list: WL.jedishrfu said:yes its the practical engineering channel of youtube.
This is the second time my links have broken. I'm thinking its due to our recent merge.
Borg said:When I reply to your original message, I see this in the YouTube link - 3oBCtTv6yOw, list: WL.
The comma and the stuff after it are breaking it.
I suspect that would be easier to do in space - or, given a few years, on the Moon (cheap construction methods and a fantastic choice of craters). With a rotation rate of 28 times that of the Earth, they could do some really good long exposures.jedishrfu said:I do wish they would build a new bigger, better and more modern scope there
Arecibo reached the end of it's service life. We have looked at that strip of the sky for long enough. It is now time to select a different latitude.jedishrfu said:True, but having it back would give us a resource we've depended on for a long time.
What do you call "radio waves"? Arecibo only worked up to 5 GHz. Radio astronomy extends above 100 GHz.jedishrfu said:Most of the newer space scopes are focused on using shorter wavelengths, not radio waves.
Plus, no hurricanes!sophiecentaur said:I suspect that would be easier to do in space - or, given a few years, on the Moon (cheap construction methods and a fantastic choice of craters). With a rotation rate of 28 times that of the Earth, they could do some really good long exposures.
Let imagination run wild. I read a proposal in the 1970s to make a light sail spacecraft . It would be made of aluminum, only 2 atoms thick. Its diameter would be bigger than the moon, yet the whole thing would mass only a few grams. For propulsion, it would be pumped by lasers in close solar orbit. It could achieve 0.3 c before leaving the solar system. But for the rest of the voyage, the sail would be free to act as a reflector dish.sophiecentaur said:I suspect that would be easier to do in space
I would have thought something a mere few km across at L2 would be ideal. Plenty of room at L2, with a bit of crafty station keeping. Plus the 'dish' would be steerable.anorlunda said:Its diameter would be bigger than the moon,
Arecibo is a radio telescope located in Puerto Rico that has been in operation since 1963. It is the largest single-aperture telescope in the world, measuring 1,000 feet in diameter. Arecibo is significant because it has been instrumental in making groundbreaking discoveries in astronomy, including the first direct image of an asteroid and the first detection of planets outside our solar system.
In August 2020, a cable supporting the telescope's receiver platform broke, causing significant damage to the telescope. In November 2020, a second cable broke, leading to the collapse of the receiver platform. As a result, the telescope is currently out of commission and its future remains uncertain.
Thankfully, no one was injured during the collapse of the Arecibo telescope. The National Science Foundation, which manages the telescope, had already evacuated the site and implemented safety protocols due to the initial cable break in August.
The collapse of Arecibo is a significant loss for the scientific community. The telescope was used for a wide range of research, including studying pulsars, searching for extraterrestrial intelligence, and tracking potentially hazardous asteroids. Its collapse will have a major impact on these and other areas of research that relied on the capabilities of the Arecibo telescope.
At this time, it is uncertain if Arecibo will be rebuilt or replaced. The National Science Foundation is currently conducting an assessment of the damage and evaluating potential options for the future of the telescope. However, given the significant cost and technical challenges involved, it may not be possible to rebuild or replace Arecibo in the near future.