Drone Captures the Terrifyingly Violent Collapse of the Arecibo Observatory

[Disir]

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 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.

Drone Captures the Terrifyingly Violent Collapse of the Arecibo Observatory

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

petapixel.com

Holy cow. Have you guys seen this?

 

[Votto]

No, wait, I saw this movie!

 

[norwegen]

Awesome footage. No doubt some big-time Hollywood producers will pay big bucks to put it in their movies.

 

[norwegen]

No, wait, I saw this movie!

Oh, snap. You stole my thunder.

 

[watchingfromafar]

It appears the collapse was predetermined. Maybe it just lived out its usefulness?

Listening for radio waves from outer pace is important. My bet is it had already been replaced by a more advanced version.

Am I right-?

-

 

[Votto]

It appears the collapse was predetermined. Maybe it just lived out its usefulness?

Listening for radio waves from outers pace is important. My bet is it had already been replaced by a more advanced version.

Am I right-?

-

Wait, are we talking about the US government or the tower thingy?

 

[Likkmee]

It appears the collapse was predetermined. Maybe it just lived out its usefulness?

Listening for radio waves from outers pace is important. My bet is it had already been replaced by a more advanced version.

Am I right-?

-

Indeed. Twitter !

 

[Canon Shooter]

The guy flying the drone should be fired...

 

[ABikerSailor]

Awesome footage. No doubt some big-time Hollywood producers will pay big bucks to put it in their movies.

Interestingly enough, that radio telescope has been in a couple of movies already.

Saw the collapse on Inside Edition this afternoon, and it was pretty spectacular. Wonder if they are going to rebuild, or just abandon it?

 

[ABikerSailor]

The guy flying the drone should be fired...

Are you being serious, or is this just your lame attempt to troll? The drone was nowhere near where it could have affected the telescope. What do you want the drone pilot fired for? Getting great footage of something that was gonna collapse anyway?

 

[Canon Shooter]

The guy flying the drone should be fired...

Are you being serious, or is this just your lame attempt to troll? The drone was nowhere near where it could have affected the telescope. What do you want the drone pilot fired for? Getting great footage of something that was gonna collapse anyway?

I never meant to suggest that the drone affected the telescope.

But the camera moved away from the main part of the telescope when it collapsed. He could've/should/ve kept the camera aimed at the main part of the array...

 

[airplanemechanic]

Drone? Was the drone taking a nap? I've never seen drone footage from a fixed location.

 

[bodecea]

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 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.

Drone Captures the Terrifyingly Violent Collapse of the Arecibo Observatory

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

petapixel.com

Holy cow. Have you guys seen this?

Like "Contact".

 

[Rambunctious]

Who built that piece of shit?...John Delorean?.....

 

[White 6]

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 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.

Drone Captures the Terrifyingly Violent Collapse of the Arecibo Observatory

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

petapixel.com

Holy cow. Have you guys seen this?

The other video is cool, showing the time synchronized clone view with the ground view and the same time.

 

[xband]

NSF stopped funding Arecibo years ago and it just a matter of time before it collapsed. It originally had MASERS to amplify the signal but they got rid of them too.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Who built that piece of shit?...John Delorean?.....

It didn't collapse because of shoddy workmanship, it collapsed because it was old. Cables tend to rust over time and become weak.

 

[miketx]

It appears the collapse was predetermined. Maybe it just lived out its usefulness?

Listening for radio waves from outer pace is important. My bet is it had already been replaced by a more advanced version.

Am I right-?

-

Drone footage acquired later shows a strange beam in the sky.

Locals speculated that the greys were tired of the prank calls we been sending them for decades.

 

[g5000]

Awesome footage. No doubt some big-time Hollywood producers will pay big bucks to put it in their movies.

Interestingly enough, that radio telescope has been in a couple of movies already.

Saw the collapse on Inside Edition this afternoon, and it was pretty spectacular. Wonder if they are going to rebuild, or just abandon it?

They are going to abandon it.

That's a shame.

I visited Arecibo many years ago when I was stationed in Puerto Rico.

 

[g5000]

Who built that piece of shit?...John Delorean?.....

It was built in 1963. It held the world record for 50 years or so, until the goddam Chinese built a bigger one.