The Arecibo Telescope and Impermanence

For 53 years, the Arecibo Telescope has stood as the world's largest single-aperture telescope in Puerto Rico. Its huge dish allowed us to peer into the universe to see even very faint objects and astronomical phenomena. Arecibo’s size also allowed us to bounce radio waves off of it, giving us vital information about not only our own atmosphere but also the surfaces of other planets and asteroids. It saw us through some of the major astronomical developments we have ever made. Arecibo’s radar maps of the moon and Mars (here) helped NASA pick landing spots for the Apollo and Viking missions. The recent landing of OSIRIS-REx on the asteroid Bennu (which we wrote about several weeks ago here) was made possible with Arecibo. (You can read more about the Arecibo Telescope’s accomplishments here).A telescope that has brought us so far forward for so long can seem unshakeable. But after two major breaks in the cables supporting the structure on November 19, 2020, Arecibo was slated for demolition due to irreparable damage. Yet, just a few days later on December 1, the main telescope collapsed before any major operations had begun. It’s undeniable that we have lost a crucial piece of history and an incredibly powerful scientific tool. But at the same time, Arecibo’s collapse aligns with one of the most fundamental things we know about the universe: that nothing is truly permanent.

Natalie Wang is currently working on her undergraduate degree in neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University as a Hodson Trust Scholar. Her research interests are in DNA damage and repair, as well as post-operative delirium in elderly patients. Natalie started volunteering with WIS PDX in 2019 as a member of the outreach and education team. When not listening to music or doom-scrolling on Twitter, she can be found checking closets for Narnia.