Observatory | Common News Update

Nov92020 by adminNo Comments

Arecibo Observatory incurs more damage as another support cable snaps

Science

ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 9 (UPI) -- A main cable that supports Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico broke over the weekend, compounding damage caused by a smaller cable failure in August, according to the University of Central Florida in Orlando, which manages the facility. "It broke and fell onto the reflector dish below, causing additional damage to the dish and other nearby cables," the university said in a statement about the incident Friday evening. Advertisement "No one was hurt, and engineers are already working to determine the best way to stabilize the structure," the statement said. Few additional details and no new photos were available Sunday because the facility restricted access to the area around the 18-acre dish, the university said. UCF submitted a request recently to the Natio...

Nov22020 by adminNo Comments

Arecibo Observatory seeks $10.5M for cable repairs after accident

Science

ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 2 (UPI) -- The Arecibo Observatory, the world's most powerful radio space telescope, is seeking $ 10.5 million to begin repairs after a disastrous cable break in August that damaged the facility in the mountains of Puerto Rico. Observatory managers, based at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Fla., made the funding request recently to the National Science Foundation, which owns the observatory. Advertisement The $ 10.5 million is only the first stage of funding that will be needed, and the request could be more than double that amount to make the facility fully functional again, said Ray Lugo, director of the university's Florida Space Institute. "I wouldn't say the situation is dire, but I would say it's complicated," said Lugo, who heads a network of organ...

Aug122020 by adminNo Comments

Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico damaged by broken cable

Science

Aug. 12 (UPI) -- The Arecibo Observatory, the world's most powerful radio space telescope, incurred significant damage when a cable that stabilizes its radio antenna snapped. Observatory engineers worked Tuesday to secure the partially wrecked facility, which was damaged the day before, said managers of the Puerto Rican landmark, who are based at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Advertisement No injuries were reported, in large part because the damage occurred about 2:45 a.m. when no one was present. "We've informed the science community that we're not doing any astronomy observation for at least two weeks," said Ray Lugo, director of the university's space institute. "Our first priority is to put the dome, antennae and suspended platform in the most secure place in case we ...

Nov282019 by adminNo Comments

Hawaiian observatory captures closeup of interstellar comet

Science

Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Using the W.M. Keck Observatory's Low-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer, a team of astronomers at Yale University has captured new imagery of the interstellar comet 2l/Borisov -- the first closeup view of the alien object. In addition to securing a closeup portrait of the comet, Yale scientists Pieter van Dokkum, Cheng-Han Hsieh, Shany Danieli, and Gregory Laughlin created an image juxtaposing the comet with planet Earth. While Earth itself is much larger than the comet's body, it's tail would dwarf Earth if the two objects were placed side by side. "It's humbling to realize how small Earth is next to this visitor from another solar system," van Dokkum said in a news release. The interstellar comet was first spotted by Gennady Borisov, an astronomer at the MARGO observato...

Oct132018 by adminNo Comments

Chandra X-ray Observatory goes into safe mode

Science

Oct. 12 (UPI) -- It's been a bad couple weeks in space. A week ago, technical difficulties forced engineers to put the Hubble Space Telescope's science mission on hold. Now, the Chandra X-ray Observatory is in safe mode, too. In a statement released on Friday, NASA confirmed Chandra, one of the most powerful telescopes in space, transitioned to safe mode earlier this week. During safe mode, the observatory's mirrors are pointed away from the sun and its solar panels are turned directly toward the sun. The satellite's most critical hardware is transferred to backup drives. "Analysis of available data indicates the transition to safe mode was normal behavior for such an event," according to NASA. "All systems functioned as expected and the scientific instruments are safe." Engineers are st...