For the second time in months, a cable accident occurred at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which damaged one of the largest and most powerful radio telescopes in the world.
In August, astronomers and science buffs were horrified to see a giant hole burst in the object's massive reflective dish as an auxiliary cable snapped off and slammed into the structure, leaving an ugly 30-meter gap.
In the months that followed, engineers and workers at the observatory prepared for a complex renovation that was originally scheduled to begin this week. Unfortunately, the second cable break on Friday evening local time made things even more difficult.
“This is, of course, not what we wanted to see, but it is important that no one gets hurt,” says observatory director Francisco Cordova.
“We thought carefully about our assessment and made safety a priority when planning the renovation, which was due to start on Tuesday.”
According to the University of Central Florida (UCF) , which operates the Arecibo Observatory on behalf of the National Science Foundation, the second cable incident has something to do with the first.
Arecibo Observatory in 2019, before the accidents this year. (UCF)
Both cables were connected to the same support tower, and it is possible that the second break was caused by additional load.
Monitors at the site monitored all cables after the August crash and noticed wire breaks on the cable, which snapped last week, presumably due to wear and tear due to additional stress. Unfortunately, before any safety restraints were installed, the second cable fell onto the plate causing additional damage and damaged nearby cables.
During his long career, Arecibo has gone through dozens of astronomical milestones, observing and recording new scientific discoveries of distant exoplanets, asteroids, pulsars, radio emission and molecules in distant galaxies.
The observatory was also at the forefront of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program and was the transmitter of the Arecibo message, the first attempt in 1974 to broadcast an interstellar radio signal.
Sources: Photo: (UCF)
