Sic transit gloria mundi.
Please follow the link first! FAST can only perform Radio Astronomy, but not Radar Astronomy, as explained in the video. The difference is that Arecibo was able to send radio waves and record the returning signal, FAST is a purely passive instrument.
1 Like
Went and read the Wikipedia article on Radar Astronomy. This section has and 2020 in general means I have high hopes for the rest of December.
While operational the Arecibo Observatory provided information about earth threatening comet and asteroid impacts, allowing impact and near miss predictions decades into the future such as those for Apophis and other bodies.[5] Being smaller the Goldstone Solar System Radar is less sensitive and unable to provide the same predictive capacity.
1 Like
Thinks don’t break if you maintain them.
7 Likes
Almost exactly like in Battlefield 4.
2 Likes
Sad news.
Hopefully not attributed to Pierce Brosnan’s poor marksmanship.
No, really, saddened.
3 Likes
Arecebo Observatory destroyed in final collapse
It was only a matter of time. Well …space and time…
Icecream in space - nobodies heard of it. I call that a marketing problem.
This is devastating, and the images of the collapse are absolutely heartbreaking to look at.
1 Like
I think it would be feasible to rebuild. There have been a lot of material science advances in the last 60 years, so a replacement center unit could end up weighing a lot less.
…and wouldn’t it be great if instead of permanantly afixing the cables, they could be used to hoist the center piece into place, and then lower it back into a central cradle for servicing, mayvbe bad weather?
Maybe instead of a permanant swiss army knife central unit, they could pop in various pieces as needed? Get some more flexibility up in there, kinda like they do with the VLA.
Me and me mate stopped at Goldstone in the late 1990s for a rare open-house of JPL-NASA-DSN facilities. The big dishes were awesome. The show included a demo of a prototype Martian rover. I laid down on the floor and it ran over me body to show it’s 3D maneuverability. Yes, I’ve been traversed by a Martian. Not many here can say that.
1 Like
World’s largest wok.
1 Like
Any status update on Sean Bean?
In all seriousness though, truly a sad day for science.
1 Like
The problem is that people who care about radio/radar astronomy probably aren’t the ones that need convincing about climate change.
3 Likes
I guess we’ll just need to build bigger things, and paint them images of brand logos and beloved television mascots that stir nostalgic feelings.
1 Like
oof.
3 Likes
Nobody can hear icecream in space
That’s his headstone sorted. Finally
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
