{"id":1933,"date":"2022-04-19T21:45:30","date_gmt":"2022-04-20T02:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/messysuitcase.com\/?p=1933"},"modified":"2022-04-20T08:09:37","modified_gmt":"2022-04-20T13:09:37","slug":"arecibo-observatory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/messysuitcase.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/19\/arecibo-observatory\/","title":{"rendered":"We were here 14 Years Ago! Arecibo Observatory After the Crash (and Before)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our family visited Arecibo Observatory to see the 1,000-foot radio-telescope constructed in a sinkhole in the karst region of western Puerto Rico during a vacation in April 2008. The radio-telescope and its visitors center offered a fascinating exploration of space for my two science-minded kids. Naturally, they don\u2019t remember it all today. But Bob and I do! That\u2019s why, when we heard that the colossal radio-telescope had collapsed last year, we booked tickets as soon as the facility reopened to see how it looks now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arecibo Observatory in 2008<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here are some photos from our 2008 visit with our kids, Aryk and Gavin, who were 10 and 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The thing on the right is the Gregorian Dome<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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36 cables held the telescope and dome up<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Arecibo Observatory Today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

And here is what it looks like, almost exactly 14 years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The first three cables snapped in November 2019, and the rest a month later. A couple of years earlier, Puerto Rico experienced a number of earthquakes, which may have compromised the structure’s integrity. But there really is no definitive answer as to why it collapsed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Arecibo facility has asked the National Science Foundation for funds to build back better, but has received no answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Past and Present Converge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Aryk and Gavin stand in front of the Saturn icon in April 2008. Note the tower support in the back.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Saturn, taken in April 2022. Note the absence of any tower structure behind. Same spot, no radio-telescope.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Watch a spectacular YouTube video of the crash here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Work Continues Anyway<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite the collapse of the giant radio-telescope, scientists continue their work at the Arecibo Observatory (AO) to study the huge amount of data collected over 50 years. It is still recognized as a world-leading radio astronomy, solar system radar, and atmospheric physics facility. It contributes highly relevant data to support discovery, innovation, and the advancement of science for the well-being of humankind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visitors and Science Center<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The state-of-the-art Science and Visitors Center holds a lively interactive museum where kids can watch a film, build a spaceship, play games, and see a model of the original telescope.  It\u2019s definitely worth the trip!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Arecibo Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation<\/a> operated under a cooperative agreement by the University of Central Florida<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch for Bob’s YouTube video, coming soon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LINKS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I<\/a>nfo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Map<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our family visited Arecibo Observatory to see the 1,000-foot radio-telescope constructed in a sinkhole in the karst region of western Puerto Rico during a vacation in April 2008. The radio-telescope and its visitors center offered a fascinating exploration of space for my two science-minded kids. Naturally, they don\u2019t remember it all today. But Bob and … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “We were here 14 Years Ago! Arecibo Observatory After the Crash (and Before)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[407,222,408,268],"tags":[411,412,413,82,266,415,414,5,6,261,262],"class_list":["post-1933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history","category-lisa-blogger","category-museums","category-puerto-rico","tag-arecibo","tag-arecibo-observatory","tag-areciboobservatory","tag-museum","tag-puertorico","tag-science","tag-space","tag-travel-blog","tag-travel-blogger","tag-travelblog","tag-travelblogger"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/messysuitcase.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/messysuitcase.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/messysuitcase.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/messysuitcase.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/messysuitcase.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1933"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/messysuitcase.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1955,"href":"https:\/\/messysuitcase.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1933\/revisions\/1955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/messysuitcase.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/messysuitcase.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/messysuitcase.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}