A cable failure put a massive hole in one of the planet’s largest telescopes

[Mike Wehner]

• A cable failure at the Arecibo Observatory resulted in massive damage to a radio telescope that has been in operation for five decades.
• The busted cable was attached to a metal platform, causing a huge gash in the radio dish.
• The telescope is now out of commission until repairs can be completed.

One of the planet's largest telescopes — the radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory — is now out of commission after a metal platform support cable snapped, tearing a massive section of the telescope into pieces. The telescope is located in Puerto Rico and is managed by several groups, including the University of Central Florida.

The incident occurred overnight on Monday and damaged "about 6-8 panels in the Gregorian Dome and twisted the platform used to access the dome," according to UCF. The reason the cable broke is unknown, but the damage it caused is extensive.

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A cable failure put a massive hole in one of the planet’s largest telescopes originally appeared on BGR.com on Wed, 12 Aug 2020 at 18:36:49 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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