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Huge Puerto Rico Radio Telescope to Close in Blow to Science

Associated Press

   SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO - The National Science Foundation announced
   Thursday that it would close the huge telescope at the renowned Arecibo
   Observatory in Puerto Rico in a blow to scientists worldwide who depend
   on it to search for planets, asteroids and extraterrestrial life.

   The independent, federally funded agency said it was too dangerous to
   keep operating the single-dish radio telescope -- one of the world's
   largest -- given the significant damage it recently sustained. An
   auxiliary cable broke in August,tearinga 100-foot hole in the reflector
   dish and damagingthe dome above it. Then on November 6, one of the
   telescope's main steel cables snapped, leading officials to warn that
   the entire structure could collapse.

   NSF officials noted that even if crews were to repair all the damage,
   engineers found the structure would still be unstable in the long term.

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