A Eulogy for the Arecibo Radio Telescope - The Cosmic Companion Nov. 19, 2020
The iconic Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico is damaged beyond repair and will soon be dismantled. Here's a look back at what made this place to special.
The Arecibo radio telescope, the largest instrument of its type for decades, is now damaged beyond repair and set for demolition. Here’s what made it so great.
By James Maynard
In Carl Sagan’s Contact, a dramatic scene shows Dr. Ellie Arroway, played by Jodie Foster, looking out over the magnificent Arecibo Telescope. And it was from this location that the human race sent our only significant radio message to alien astronomers on worlds orbiting distant stars.
Now, the Arecibo Observatory, wracked by a series of unfortunate events, is due to be demolished, ending its 57-year lifespan discovering the Universe.
The brainchild of Cornell University Physicist William Edwin Gordon, construction of the 305-meter (1,000-foot) dish began in a natural karst sinkhole in Puerto Rico in 1960. Development of the revolutionary telescope continued for three years before work was completed.
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