Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico was built in 1963 and was the world’s largest single-unit radio telescope until China’s construction of the
FAST in 2016. After struggling with structural issues for some time, the dish finally collapsed and the violent destruction was caught on video.
The Observatory was designed over a natural sinkhole and the spherical reflector that consisted of aluminum panels focused incoming radio waves on a moveable antenna that hung suspended about 550 feet above. Those antennae could be moved in any direction and allowed the device to track a celestial object as it moved across the sky.
The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico was built in 1963 and was the world's largest single-unit radio telescope until China's construction of the FAST in
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Holy cow. Have you guys seen this?