The Arecibo Observatory was a
radio telescope in Arecibo,
Puerto Rico.
The observatory
consisted of a 305 m (1,000 ft)
spherical reflector dish built
into a natural sinkhole, a
cable-mount steerable receiver
mounted 150 m (492 ft) above the
dish, and several radar
transmitters for emitting
signals. For more than 50 years,
the Arecibo Observatory was the
world's largest single-aperture
telescope.
The observatory was damaged
by Hurricane Maria in 2017 and
was affected by earthquakes in
2019 and 2020. After cables
broke the
support structure for the
suspended platform crashed down
into the dish. The site is
likely to be decommissioned.
Arecibo was primarily used
for research in radio astronomy,
atmospheric science, and radar
astronomy, as well as for
programs that search for
extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).
With regards to
Einstein@Home, more than 20
pulsars have been found in
Arecibo data.
The observatory is a familiar
site; it has had several
appearances in film, gaming and
television productions, such as
for the climactic fight scene in
the James Bond film GoldenEye.
