Arecibo telescope: once the "eye of the sky", now the "garbage dump"
In the endless exploration of the universe by human beings, we rely on electromagnetic wave observations, however, the obstruction of the earth's atmosphere makes us only able to peek into the mysteries of the universe through three specific electromagnetic wave windows, which are the "optical window", "infrared window" and "radio window".
Radio telescopes are powerful tools for peering into the universe through the "radio window". The radio band has a long wavelength of electromagnetic waves, which can easily penetrate the gas and dust of the universe and observe the wonders of deep space that cannot be captured in other bands. However, radio telescopes were relatively difficult to build and required larger apertures, and human radio astronomy only began to flourish in the 40s of the 20th century.
The Arecibo telescope, located in the valley of the American island of Puerto Rico, is a dazzling star in the field of radio telescopes. Built in the early 60s of the 20th century with a total construction cost of up to 260 million US dollars, it is famous for its parabolic reflective discs with a diameter of 350 meters and a mobile antenna structure weighing 900 tons. However, on December 1, 2020, this "eye in the sky" experienced a catastrophic collapse and announced its end.
Once the largest radio telescope in the world, the Arecibo Telescope is known as the "eye in the sky" on Earth for its outstanding contributions to radio astronomy and radar astronomy. However, disrepair became the main cause of its catastrophic collapse. After multiple breakdowns and hurricanes, the Arecibo telescope lacked sufficient funding and timely maintenance, and eventually withdrew from the stage of history.