And like many people, I’ve been inspired by the grandeur of the telescope and the scope of the research it made possible. I have been involved in the review process for several research papers that relied on research performed at Arecibo. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen for Arecibo.

A cutting-edge facility needs cutting-edge funding. This doesn’t necessarily mean we shouldn’t put observatories in tropical locations, but it highlights the need for regular upkeep and upgrades. Just a few months ago, the facility weathered tropical storm Isaias. James Bond climbed the telescope in “GoldenEye,” and it was also featured in the Jodie Foster film, “Contact.” Luckily, with the resources available to scientists today, there shouldn’t be too much of a disruption to the type of research that Arecibo supported.Īrecibo is located in the tropics, so it is regularly exposed to tropical storm conditions. Arecibo was, and continues to be, an irreplaceable facility worth preserving, both for its scientific capabilities and for its cultural impact. We now have the Hubble Space Telescope and China’s Aperture Spherical Telescope, among others.

It’s sad to see what the sands of time have done to Arecibo, but it’s also important to remember that scientists have safety nets - Arecibo is not the lone marvel it was in 1963. Anthony Lupo, a professor of atmospheric science, won the SEC's 2020 Faculty Achievement Award earlier this year.

Arecibo telescope history