{"id":8428,"date":"2020-12-04T12:36:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-04T01:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/2020\/12\/04\/the-terrible-collapse-of-the-arecibo-dish-climate-change-hurricane-maria-and-funding-cuts-also-chinas-new-dish\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T00:37:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T14:37:46","slug":"the-terrible-collapse-of-the-arecibo-dish-climate-change-hurricane-maria-and-funding-cuts-also-chinas-new-dish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/2020\/12\/04\/the-terrible-collapse-of-the-arecibo-dish-climate-change-hurricane-maria-and-funding-cuts-also-chinas-new-dish\/","title":{"rendered":"The Terrible Collapse of the Arecibo Dish: Climate Change, Hurricane Maria, and Funding Cuts. Also: China&#8217;s New Dish"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"247\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ssHkMWcGat4\" width=\"440\"><\/iframe> <\/p>\n<p><i style=\"color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;\"><b>From <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/watch-crazy-footage-of-the-arecibo-observatory-collapse-goldeneye-video\/\">https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/watch-crazy-footage-of-the-arecibo-observatory-collapse-goldeneye-video\/<\/a> :<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;\"><i><b>&#8220;Alas, over the 2010s it was battered by a series of severe, climate change-linked tropical storms and hurricanes, culminating in terrible damage inflicted by Hurricane Maria in 2017. Unfortunately the 2016 election led to a government unwilling to fund repairs. Though new sources of funding were cobbled together late in 2018, in late Nov. 2020 it was determined there was no way to safely repair the telescope and the National Science Foundation announced it would be decommissioned.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;\"><i><b>The decommissioning was supposed to proceed after NSF determined the safest possible method, but physics had other plans. So it is that on Dec. 4, the whole thing up and collapsed with almost no warning.&#8221;<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; font-family: Oxygen, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;\"><b>More info (from NSF): <\/b><\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/news\/special_reports\/arecibo\/index.jsp\">https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/news\/special_reports\/arecibo\/index.jsp<\/a><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Here is a good 2017 article that discusses the electronic and mechanical arrangements at Arecibo, and the budget cuts it was facing. The article seems to almost predict the collapse: <\/b><\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imeche.org\/news\/news-article\/arecibo-funding-cuts-threaten-future-of-giant-radio-telescope\">https:\/\/www.imeche.org\/news\/news-article\/arecibo-funding-cuts-threaten-future-of-giant-radio-telescope<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Here is a comment from someone who worked there and heard the collapse: <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\" style=\"background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\" style=\"border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;\">\n<p style=\"border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;\"><i><b><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Jonathan Friedman, who worked for 26 years as a senior research associate at the observatory and still lives near it, told the Associated Press news agency of the moment the telescope collapsed on Tuesday.<\/span><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\" style=\"background-color: white; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\" style=\"border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;\">\n<p style=\"border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;\"><b><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><i style=\"color: #3f3f42; font-family: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;\">&#8220;It sounded like a rumble. I knew exactly what it was,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I was screaming. Personally, I was out of control&#8230; I don&#8217;t have words to express it. It&#8217;s a very deep, terrible feeling.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-55147973?fbclid=IwAR3RuwzTfJmqInrOOFB-nctknDzyB_VSr_qdNrjg9LbbxUnAbynKBv9stPQ\"> <\/a><\/i><span style=\"color: #3f3f42; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif;\"><i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-55147973?fbclid=IwAR3RuwzTfJmqInrOOFB-nctknDzyB_VSr_qdNrjg9LbbxUnAbynKBv9stPQ\">https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-55147973?fbclid=IwAR3RuwzTfJmqInrOOFB-nctknDzyB_VSr_qdNrjg9LbbxUnAbynKBv9stPQ<\/a><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Here is an interesting WIKIpedia article on China&#8217;s FAST dish, with comparisons to Arecibo: <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Five-hundred-meter_Aperture_Spherical_Telescope#:~:text=The%20Five%2Dhundred%2Dmeter%20Aperture,County%2C%20Guizhou%2C%20southwest%20China.\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Five-hundred-meter_Aperture_Spherical_Telescope#:~:text=The%20Five%2Dhundred%2Dmeter%20Aperture,County%2C%20Guizhou%2C%20southwest%20China.<\/span><\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEhO9dF2iJS57V48QS0EiEUsmdkII1p1B7Fpl6lEytRFmH4LOPog2pn7ob7DtiIyeEtQDJmgA75f-XcTMAfT4sZDVh543MfdIuNwlpakgwyNEkfQaGiedH8FoDSYe1Imlkuyu6LsTDippys\/s280\/FAST_Arecibo_Observatory_profiles.svg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"140\" data-original-width=\"280\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEhO9dF2iJS57V48QS0EiEUsmdkII1p1B7Fpl6lEytRFmH4LOPog2pn7ob7DtiIyeEtQDJmgA75f-XcTMAfT4sZDVh543MfdIuNwlpakgwyNEkfQaGiedH8FoDSYe1Imlkuyu6LsTDippys\/s0\/FAST_Arecibo_Observatory_profiles.svg\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.3704px; text-align: left;\">Comparison of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Arecibo_Telescope\" style=\"background: none rgb(248, 249, 250); color: #faa700; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.3704px; outline-color: rgb(51, 102, 204); text-align: left;\" title=\"\">Arecibo Telescope<\/a><span style=\"background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.3704px; text-align: left;\"> (top) and FAST (bottom) dishes at the same scale<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/AreciboPicture.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"549\" data-original-width=\"976\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/AreciboPicture.jpg\" width=\"400\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><b>Adios Arecibo<\/b><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/watch-crazy-footage-of-the-arecibo-observatory-collapse-goldeneye-video\/ : &#8220;Alas, over the 2010s it was battered by a series of severe, climate change-linked tropical storms and hurricanes, culminating in terrible damage inflicted by Hurricane Maria in 2017. Unfortunately the 2016 election led to a government unwilling to fund repairs. Though new sources of funding were cobbled together late in 2018, in &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/2020\/12\/04\/the-terrible-collapse-of-the-arecibo-dish-climate-change-hurricane-maria-and-funding-cuts-also-chinas-new-dish\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The Terrible Collapse of the Arecibo Dish: Climate Change, Hurricane Maria, and Funding Cuts. Also: China&#8217;s New Dish&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,313,244,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-antennas","category-climate-change","category-puerto-rico","category-radio-astronomy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8428"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8430,"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8428\/revisions\/8430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homebrewradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}