Why America Abandoned Arecibo Telescope00:14:15

For 57 years, the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico was the most powerful radio telescope ever built. It discovered the first planets outside our solar system, provided indirect proof that gravitational waves exist, and served as Earths primary radar defense against asteroid impacts. It also became one of the most recognizable scientific structures in the world, appearing in James Bond films and Carl Sagans Contact. Then, on December 1, 2020, it collapsed into a jungle ravine in under 15 seconds.
The collapse was not an accident. It was the result of decades of underfunding, deferred maintenance, a catastrophic hurricane, and a series of structural failures that engineers warned were coming. This is the story of how the United States built the greatest scientific instrument of its era, neglected it until it was beyond saving, and lost it before a replacement was ever planned.
#Arecibo #RadioTelescope #ItsHistory

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