The famous Arecibo telescope that worked to make the James Bond movie be

This is a sad day for the world of astronomy. The Arecibo Observatory In Puerto Rico, the home of an epic telescopic bowl, saying goodbye. The Observatory suffered serious injuries Damage due to a cable failure in August, And the situation only got worse.

The The National Science Foundation (NSF) made the announcement on Thursday That it will launch a 305-meter (1000-foot) telescope, ending the device’s 57 years of service.

The NSF said in a statement: “This decision follows an assessment by a number of independent engineering companies which found that the telescopic structure was in danger of a catastrophic failure and that its cables were no longer capable of carrying that weight. They may have been designed to support, “the NSF said in a statement. .

A. The second cable failed In early November. It was a main cable and broke and fell into the reflector dish, damaging both the dish and the surrounding cable. The cables were designed to support a 900-ton platform 450 feet above the dish.

“Every remaining cable in the trench is now supporting a heavier weight than before, increasing the likelihood of another cable failing, which is likely to result in the entire structure tumbling,” he said. The University of Central Florida said in a statement On November 13. UCF manages the facility for the National Science Foundation.

The Observatory was set against a dramatic battle scene in the 1995 James Bond film Golden New With Pierce Brosnan. She also appeared in the 1997 film Jody Foster Contact. But in the real legacy of Arecibo Lots of scientific discoveries It was possible. It examined pulsars, expanded our knowledge of Mercury, observed exoplanets, and exploded high-speed radios.

Scientists took to Twitter to mourn for the observatory. “It’s such a big scientific gut punch. The end of an era.” Said astronomer Tania Harrison.

Field geophysicist Mika McKinnon tweeted“I’m surprised we’re losing Arcibo. Even if you don’t pay much attention to ground-based astronomy, you know this telescope from pop culture and movies. It’s something special.”

The NSF’s condemnation plan will focus on binoculars in an effort to protect surrounding surveillance structures. “Once all the necessary preparations have been made, the binoculars will be subjected to deregulation,” the foundation said.