Arecibo Observatory
The Arecibo Observatory, also known as the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC) and formerly known as the Arecibo Ionosphere Observatory, is an observatory in Barrio Esperanza, Arecibo, Puerto Rico owned by the US National Science Foundation (NSF).
The Arecibo Telescope in 2019 | |
| Alternative names | National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center |
|---|---|
| Named after | Arecibo |
| Organization | |
| Observatory code | 251 |
| Location | Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Caribbean |
| Coordinates | 18°20′39″N 66°45′10″W |
| Altitude | 498 m (1,634 ft) |
| Website | www |
| Telescopes |
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| Related media on Commons | |
National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Nearest city | Arecibo |
| Area | 118 acres (48 ha) |
| Built | 1963 |
| Architect | Kavanagh, T. C. |
| Engineer | von Seb, Inc., T. C. Kavanagh of Praeger-Kavanagh, and Severud-Elstad-Krueger Associates |
| NRHP reference No. | 07000525 |
| Added to NRHP | September 23, 2008 |
The observatory's main instrument was the Arecibo Telescope, a 305 m (1,000 ft) spherical reflector dish built into a natural sinkhole, with a cable-mount steerable receiver and several radar transmitters for emitting signals mounted 150 m (492 ft) above the dish. Completed in 1963, it was the world's largest single-aperture telescope for 53 years, surpassed in July 2016 by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in China. Following two breaks in cables supporting the receiver platform in mid-2020, the NSF decommissioned the telescope. A full collapse of the telescope occurred on December 1, 2020, before either repairs or controlled demolition could be conducted. In 2022, the NSF announced the telescope will not be rebuilt, with an educational facility to be established on the site.
The observatory also includes a smaller radio telescope, a LIDAR facility, and a visitor center, which remained operational after the telescope's collapse. The asteroid 4337 Arecibo is named after the observatory by Steven J. Ostro, in recognition of the observatory's contributions to the characterization of Solar System bodies.