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Renowned Arecibo telescope won’t be rebuilt — and astronomers are heartbroken

The US National Science Foundation has decided to instead open an educational centre at the site.
  1. Alexandra Witze
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After a world-famous radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico collapsed two years ago, many scientists hoped that the US National Science Foundation (NSF), which runs the facility, would eventually build a new one to replace it. Instead, the agency has announced that it will establish an educational centre for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at the site. The revised plan might wind down or drastically alter the remaining research being done at Arecibo.

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Nature 610, 618-619 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-03293-4

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 17 October 2022: This story has been updated to more accurately reflect the range of studies that the 12-metre radio antenna at the Arecibo Observatory currently performs.

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