The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. | Photograph: Common Pictures Group by way of Getty Pictures
This week, the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico — an iconic facility made well-known by films like Contact and Goldeneye — needed to halt observations of the Universe after a structural cable failed, punching a gap within the facility’s big reflector dish. Operators of the observatory say the general facility is usually superb, however they’re working to determine precisely what went incorrect.
“The vast majority of that major reflector is in fine condition, however our focus is basically ensuring that the platform has the structural stability wanted to function within the close to future,” Francisco Cordova, the director of the observatory on the College of Central Florida, stated throughout a press name.