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A12 SCIENCE
Wednesday 18 november 2020

Cable failures endanger renowned Puerto Rico radio telescope

By DÁNICA COTO of radar data.”
Associated Press The observatory in Puerto
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) Rico is considered crucial
— The giant, aging cables for the study of pulsars,
that support one of the which are the remains of
world’s largest single-dish stars that can be used to
radio telescopes are slowly detect gravitational waves,
unraveling in this U.S. territo- a phenomenon Albert Ein-
ry, pushing an observatory stein predicted in his theory
renowned for its key role in of general relativity. The
astronomical discoveries to telescope also is used to
the brink of collapse. search for neutral hydro-
The Arecibo Observatory, gen, which can reveal how
which is tethered above a certain cosmic structures
sinkhole in Puerto Rico’s lush are formed.
mountain region, boasts a “It’s more than 50 years old,
1,000-foot-wide (305-me- but it remains a very impor-
ter-wide) dish featured in tant instrument,” said Alex
the Jodie Foster film “Con- Wolszczan, a Polish-born
tact” and the James Bond astronomer and professor
movie “GoldenEye.” at Pennsylvania State Uni-
The dish and a dome sus- versity.
pended above it have He helped discover the
been used to track aster- first extrasolar and pulsar
oids headed toward Earth, planets and credited the
conduct research that observatory for having a
led to a Nobel Prize and culture that allowed him to
helped scientists trying to test what he described as
determine if a planet is wild ideas that sometimes
habitable. worked.
“As someone who de- “Losing it would be a really
pends on Arecibo for my In this Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020 file photo, provided by the Arecibo Observatory, shows the damage huge blow to what I think is
science, I’m frightened. done by a broken cable that supported a metal platform, creating a 100-foot (30-meter) gash to a very important science,”
It’s a very worrisome situ- the radio telescope’s reflector dish in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Associated Press Wolszczan said.
ation right now. There’s a An astronomer at the ob-
possibility of cascading, cluding a project aiding University officials say crews tor, Francisco Córdova, servatory in the 1980s and
catastrophic failure,” said scientists in their search for have already noticed wire was not available for com- early 1990s, Wolszczan still
astronomer Scott Ransom nearby galaxies. breaks on two of the re- ment. In a Facebook post, uses the telescope for cer-
with the North American The telescope was built in maining main cables. They the observatory said main- tain work because it offers
Nanohertz Observatory for the 1960s and financed by warn that employees and tenance was up to date an unmatched combi-
Gravitational Waves, a col- the Defense Department contractors are at risk de- and the most recent ex- nation of high frequency
laboration of scientists in amid a push to develop spite relying heavily on ternal structural evaluation range and sensitivity that
the U.S. and Canada. anti-ballistic missile defens- drones and remote cam- occurred after Hurricane he said allows for a “huge
Last week, one of the es. It’s endured over a half- eras to assess the damage. Maria. array” of science projects.
telescope’s main steel century of disasters, includ- The observatory estimates The most recent damage Among them: observing
cables that was capable ing hurricanes and earth- the damage at more than was likely the result of the molecules of life, detecting
of sustaining 1.2 million quakes. Repairs from Hurri- $12 million and is seeking cable degrading over time radio emission of stars and
pounds (544,000 kilograms) cane Maria, which devas- money from the National and carrying extra weight conducting pulsar work.
snapped under only tated Puerto Rico in 2017, Science Foundation, an in- after the auxiliary cable The telescope also was a
624,000 pounds (283,000 were still underway when dependent federal agen- snapped, the university training ground for gradu-
kilograms). That failure fur- the first cable snapped. cy that owns the observa- said. In August, the socket ate students and widely
ther mangled the reflector Some new cables are tory. holding that cable failed, loved for its educational
dish after an auxiliary cable scheduled to arrive next Foundation spokesman possibly the result of manu- opportunities, said Carmen
broke in August, tearing a month, but officials said Rob Margetta said engi- facturing error, the obser- Pantoja, an astronomer
100-foot hole and damag- funding for repairs has not neering and cost estimates vatory said. and professor at the Uni-
ing the dome above it. been worked out with fed- have not been completed The problems have inter- versity of Puerto Rico, the
Officials said they were sur- eral agencies. Scientists and that funding the re- rupted the work of re- island’s largest public uni-
prised because they had warn that time is running pairs would likely involve searchers like Edgard Rive- versity.
evaluated the structure out. Only a handful of ca- Congress and discussions ra-Valentín, a Universities She relied on it for her doc-
in August and believed it bles now support the 900- with stakeholders. He said Space Research Associa- toral thesis and recalled
could handle the shift in ton platform. the agency is reviewing “all tion scientist at the Lunar staring at it in wonder when
weight based on previous “Each of the structure’s re- recommendations for ac- and Planetary Institute in she was a young girl.
inspections. maining cables is now sup- tion at Arecibo.” Texas. He had planned to “I was struck by how big
It’s a blow for the telescope porting more weight than “NSF is ultimately responsi- study Mars in September and mysterious it was,” she
that more than 250 scien- before, increasing the like- ble for decisions regarding during its close approach said.
tists around the world were lihood of another cable the structure’s safety,” he to Earth. “The future of the tele-
using. The facility is also one failure, which would likely said in an email. “Our top “This is the closest Mars was scope depends greatly on
of Puerto Rico’s main tourist result in the collapse of the priority is the safety of any- going to be while also be- what position the National
attractions, drawing some entire structure,” the Uni- one at the site.” ing observable from Are- Science Foundation takes
90,000 visitors a year. versity of Central Florida, Representatives of the uni- cibo until 2067,” he said. “I ... I hope they can find a
Research has been sus- which manages the facility, versity and the observatory won’t be around the next way and that there’s good-
pended since August, in- said in a statement Friday. said the telescope’s direc- time we can get this level will to save it.”q