The famous Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico will not be replaced after it crashed two years ago. Dramatic photos and videos show pieces of the broken telescope overtaken by the forest.

Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, left, before the 2020 collapse, and after the collapse, right, in October 2022.Arecibo Observatory / Paula Rosa Aquino

  • Before and after photos from Arecibo Observatory Drama collapse He ended an era in space research.

  • Astronomers mourned the loss of the observatory he encountered natural disasters.

  • For nearly 60 years, the Arecibo Observatory has made significant contributions to astronomy.

Arecibo Observatory, A legendary radio telescope located in the lush mountains of Puerto Rico, it has served as the primary observatory of the universe for nearly six decades.

From tracking asteroids to discovering the first Planets outside our solar systemArecibo made fundamental contributions to our knowledge of space.

Telescope observation equipment is suspended from a platform suspended above a 1,000-foot radio dish until December 1, 2020. After a series of calamities, from earthquakes to hurricanes, The cables that support that platform gavecausing the telescope to collapse onto the wide dish below.

Here’s how the telescope is doing two years after its collapse.

The telescope was built in a natural stream in northwest Puerto Rico.

High altitude image of Arecibo Observatory

An elevated view of the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, taken in the 1980s.Arecibo Observatory

Members of the nearby communities of Arecibo helped build the observatory.

Workers tying and lifting cables supporting the platform in September 1962.

Workers tying and lifting cables that supported the platform in September 1962.Arecibo Observatory

The observatory first opened in November 1963. It was initially made of metal mesh, which meant you could see through it into the stream below.

An aerial view of the William E. Gordon Telescope in its first form.

Aerial view of the William E. Gordon Telescope from Arecibo before switching plates in 1973.Cornell University / Arecibo Observatory

Arecibo was the backbone of astronomers.

Astronomers Larry Webster and Jill Tarter watch computer screens at the observatory on October 10, 1992. They work to begin the search for signs of extraterrestrial life.

Astronomers Larry Webster and Jill Tarter watch computer screens at the observatory on October 10, 1992. They begin searching for signs of extraterrestrial life.Roger Ressmeyer/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images

In 1974, the first radio message addressed to a space audience was broadcast. The encrypted message shows the chemical formulas of the components of DNA, as well as simple drawings of a human figure and Arecibo.

telescope drawings

Arecibo message, with color added to highlight DNA, humans and telescope graphics. Astronomers hope any intelligent civilization living near the Milky Way will hear it.norw

The first known exoplanet orbiting a pulsar, or the dense remnant of a collapsing giant star emitting radiation, was discovered in 1992.

Artists' impression of the extrasolar planets in the pulsar, PSR B1257+12.

Artist’s impression of extrasolar planets in PSR B1257+12 pulsar.NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. injury

The telescope was a movie star thanks to its appearances in “Golden Eye” and “Contact.”

Screenshot of Jimmy Foster from the movie ";  Contact & quot;  Looking at the Arecibo . Observatory

The Arecibo Observatory was featured in the 1997 movie Contact starring Jodie Foster.Osteoscopy / Youtube

The radio telescope had a 1,000-foot-wide, aluminum-lined dish that covered 18 acres in northwest Puerto Rico.

A man on cables above the ground above a radio telescope

A technician checks cables that attach a receiver to a radio telescope dish in July 1989.Roger Ressmeyer/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images

Cables helped support a metal platform high above the dish.

Aerial view of the Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.

An aerial view of the Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, on July 9, 2012.Universal Images Group / Getty Images

The receiver was on a 900-ton platform, suspended 450 feet above the dish, on a 304-foot movable boom.

The receiver was on a 900-ton platform suspended 450 feet above the dish on a 304-foot movable boom.

Arecibo’s massive dish reflected radio waves from space to its suspended platform, on July 9, 2012.Global Image Collection via Getty Images

It collapsed in December 2020, after being hit by Hurricane Maria in 2017 and shaken by earthquakes.

The cables connecting the suspended platform to one of the towers were cut.

Two important cables were cut, causing the suspended platform to collapse and tearing the Arecibo dish.Paula Rosa Aquino

Videos of the collapse show that it started when the cables connecting the suspended platform to one of the towers broke.

There are 19,000 plates left on the plate from the original 37,000.

There are 19,000 plates left on the plate from the original 37,000.

The collapse damaged many of the panels that received the incoming radio waves, leaving an area of ​​greenery underneath.Paula Rosa Aquino

Side-by-side images of the Arecibo Observatory, before and after its collapse, show significant damage that ended an era in space research.

Side-by-side images of the Arecibo Observatory, before and after its collapse, show the massive devastation that ended an era in space research.

Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, left, before the 2020 collapse, and after the collapse, right, in October 2022.Arecibo Observatory / Paula Rosa Aquino

The National Science Foundation recently announced that it will not rebuild Arecibo. However, the legacy of the telescope will live on.

The entrance to the Arecibo Observatory in October 2022.

The entrance to the Arecibo Observatory in October 2022.Paula Rosa Aquino

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