The collapse of the iconic radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, astronomers last month left a whole host of questions about what went wrong and what comes next.
During a virtual city hall event on Monday (January 11) held during the 237th Conference of the American Astronomical Society, officials from the National Science Foundation (NSF), which owns the facility, presented the most detailed account of the events to date. so far offered. led to the telescope’s uncontrolled collapse on December 1st.
The event was the first presentation by the agency aimed at researchers since the collapse collapsed, and officials emphasized their commitment to it. scientists around the world who have had links with Arecibo. “We at NSF are very grateful that the safety zones were adequate and that no one was physically injured,” Ashley Zauderer, program director of the Arecibo Observatory at the NSF, said during the presentation.
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“I say ‘physically hurt’ because we want to communicate clearly that we understand it was a very traumatic event that affected many people,” Zauderer said. “It hurts a lot.”
Zauderer’s comments focused on giving astronomers a detailed understanding of the events surrounding the collapse, with a timeline starting in 2017. hurricanes Irma and Maria battered Puerto Rico. The facility was ready to begin repairs to the damage caused when a cable broke down in August. (The hurricane repair included replacing another cable that was connected to a different support tower than the cables that eventually failed when the crash happened.)
But then, before dawn on August 10, one of the massive cables that held the 900-ton science platform high slipped out of its socket. Engineers evaluated the situation, determined that the structure still needed to be stable, and began devising a recovery strategy. Meanwhile, the investigation into what went wrong also began, Zauderer said.
“That failed connection was sent to NASA Kennedy Forensic Medicine Laboratory in early October to try to understand why it failed and to help us understand that other pedestals are in danger as well,” she said.
Once again, a repair plan came together and the facility was ready to start work, only to hit another disaster, when another cable to the same tower broke on November 6th. In the wake of the second failure, NSF concluded that there was no safe way to stabilize or save the facility and ways to dismantle the telescope in a controlled manner, a decision he announced on November 19, although Zauderer told the assembled astronomers that the NSF still holds out hope.
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“Although we said we were planning to dismantle at that point, we still wanted more information so we would be ready to move if new information came to light that there was a safe way to operate the telescope. repair.” .
That shift was never possible; the platform sank under the 305-meter-wide dish beneath it on December 1, destroying the radio telescope.
“This is not what either of us wanted,” Zauderer said. “NSF has been working very hard since August to make a stabilization plan possible.”
The future of the site is still unknown Congress joins astronomers and Puerto Ricans to request an update on the facility by the end of February – what happened, what NSF wants to do with the observatory and associated cost estimates. The request comes as part of the omnibus account financed by the agency through this financial year, which ends on September 30; Ralph Gaume, director of the Astronomical Sciences Division of NSF, referred to the congressional request during City Hall, but did not give details on how NSF would comply.
Zauderer told Space.com that teams began evaluating the day of the crash to clear the site safely. “Work is continuing very actively, but it will take a long time due to the amount of debris and the need to work safely and with appropriate environmental protection measures,” she wrote.
But Zauderer noted during the presentation that the crash did not completely destroy the iconic dish of the radio telescope. “About 50% of the reflector is still intact,” she said. “We are considering at this stage to weigh the pros and cons of preserving part, rebuilding or what can be done with it.”
Email Meghan Bartels at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @meghanbartels. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.