Puerto Rico Pledges $8 Million To Rebuild Arecibo Observatory
The main collecting dish is among the world’s largest single-dish radio telescopes. The reflective dish is 1,000 feet in diameter, 167 feet deep, and covers an area of about 20 acres. Photo: UCF
Puerto Rico is committing $8 million to the effort to rebuild the Arecibo Observatory.
Outgoing Governor Wanda Vázquez signed an executive order last week establishing the rebuilding of the facility a “public policy” of the Puerto Rican government — citing the telescope’s role in encouraging Puerto Rican students to study science and its status as a tourist attraction.
The $8 million pledge will help rebuild a “more modern observatory,” according to a message posted to Facebook.
The dish collapsed last month after a series of snapped cables shut down the 305-meter telescope, which helped identify near Earth asteroids and far-away planets.
More than 100,000 people signed a White House petition to rebuild the damaged dish.
The National Science Foundation owns the observatory, and UCF manages the facility under an agreement with NSF. Congress has asked for a report on the cause of the collapse.
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