Iconic Puerto Rico telescope to be dismantled

Kyle

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Sorry, but this whole situation is !#$%-ing outrageous. This telescope gave us the first evidence of planets beyond the solar system, produced the first map of the planet Venus, the first ever repeating FRB, and more, only to end its life by crashing in on itself like an old, forgotten building.
 

GLS

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Sorry, but this whole situation is !#$%-ing outrageous. This telescope gave us the first evidence of planets beyond the solar system, produced the first map of the planet Venus, the first ever repeating FRB, and more, only to end its life by crashing in on itself like an old, forgotten building.
Probably the most sad part of this is that there is not replacement being planned. (n)
 

Notebook

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Isn't there a similar design being built by China?
 

Thunder Chicken

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A lot of decommissioning engineers breathed a sigh of relief after that collapse. There was a lot of pent up potential energy in that structure and having that collapse happen while trying to take it down would have been incredibly dangerous. Now it is more-or-less debris recovery.
 

GLS

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Isn't there a similar design being built by China?
Similar design yes, but different funcionality. AFAIK, Arecibo could "hear" and "speak", while the chinese FAST observatory can only "hear".
I think I read somewhere that Arecibo also did atmospheric research... not sure if that can be done with the FAST.
 

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So while the collapse is fact now, let's hope that a new (better?) observatory can be financed and build.
Still sad to see the "good old" ones die.
 

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Arecibo did what we can't do with our modern telescopes, which includes sending an extraterrestrial message. This is the transcription of the message:
512px-Arecibo_message.svg.png
 

Matias Saibene

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Despite the fact that there were no human losses, which is quite incredible, this is very sad. I don't know why, but when I heard the news, I remembered the movie Contact (based on Carl Sagan's book), and I remembered the innumerable frustrations they showed about how human beings interfere with their own development and research with many pretexts to explore such a large universe on a planet so small and full of opportunities and resources (for any substantial improvement in everyone's quality of life)... resources that end up being rendered useless (e.g. the food that goes to waste, etc) by excuses and mental inventions of the human being that does not achieve its ends because of its means. Who will have one last gesture of goodwill to the people of this small planet?
 

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Here is another angle of the collapse. They were inspecting the cable attachments with a drone on the far tower when they failed.

The video I posted already had the drone view (but didn't have the "b-roll" footage).
 

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The Green Bank Radio Telescope in West Virginia fell over and was repaired! Arecibo would be easier to repair because its laying on the ground normally! Aluminum is less costly too! We'll see!

Thanks, Guys!

Christopher Tarana
 

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I have to disagree.
1. It's about size: Green Banks (100 foot telescope) diameter was 90m ; Arecibo diameter is 305m
2. The 100 foot telescope was not repaired, it was replaced.
3. You say "aluminum is less costly"... compared to what?
 

Urwumpe

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Also, the problem isn't really getting the aluminum. It is machining it with the necessary precision for turning it into a reflector.
 

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It was made of aluminum initially, 40,000 panels worth!

Thanks, Guys!

Christopher Tarana
 

Sbb1413

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Aluminium is more costly than steel.
 

Linguofreak

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The Green Bank Radio Telescope in West Virginia fell over and was repaired! Arecibo would be easier to repair because its laying on the ground normally!

Unfortunately, the dish lying on the ground isn't the expensive bit, or the bit that's most catastrophically damaged. The expensive bit is all the radio equipment that was hanging over the dish. That bit is bigger than on the green banks telescope (and accordingly more expensive), and assuming any of it was salvageable in either case, my impression is that it would have hit the ground harder in the Arecibo case, which would do more damage.
 

kuddel

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Aluminium is more costly than steel.
That is not always the case. It strongly depends for what you are using it.
For construction, steel is cheaper, but has to be treated (painted for example) regularly to keep it from rusting.
Aluminum (or Aluminium as we say here ;) ) on the other hand is not so tough when it comes to tensile loads, but builds a "natural" anticorrosive coating (oxide) that might come out as being cheaper in the long run.
As usual: ...it depends...
 

Urwumpe

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That is not always the case. It strongly depends for what you are using it.
For construction, steel is cheaper, but has to be treated (painted for example) regularly to keep it from rusting.
Aluminum (or Aluminium as we say here ;) ) on the other hand is not so tough when it comes to tensile loads, but builds a "natural" anticorrosive coating (oxide) that might come out as being cheaper in the long run.
As usual: ...it depends...

Its also the "paradox" of Internal combustion engine pistons. Despite all attempts, steel pistons are lighter than aluminum pistons. But well, thats a historic technology soon.
 
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