By Larry Klaes
Any good news from Arecibo is welcome, and Larry Klaes here delivers it. The observatory, threatened with closure despite its key role in the hunt for Earth-crossing asteroids, may have found at least temporary deliverance. Politics seems to have played a role, as Larry notes, but for once with results that benefit science rather than compromising it. Meanwhile, a new study of the Chixculub impact 65 million years ago tells us that a hail of carbon cenospheres — tiny carbon beads — may have fallen planet-wide following the strike. The more we learn about past impacts, the more we realize how important a role our planetary radars play in forestalling future catastrophe.
What exists on the island of Puerto Rico that is over 1,000 feet across, could hold ten billion bowls of cereal, pick up a cell phone call from the planet Venus, once sent a message to any potential inhabitants of a distant globular star cluster, discovered the first planets around another star, has been a “star” in several major motion pictures, has spent the last two years under the threat of losing its funding, and now may be saved on several political fronts, including one involving a New York senator who has been rather busy these days running for President?
The answer is the Arecibo Observatory, which has been managed by Cornell University since it began exploring the Universe in 1963. Home to the largest single radio telescope on Earth, Arecibo has made many major discoveries for astronomy. The facility has also been prominent in analyzing planetoids known as Near Earth Objects (NEOs) that could potentially impact our planet and threaten all life upon it.
Despite all these achievements, in 2006 the National Science Foundation (NSF) appointed a senior advisory panel to see where they could get money for new astronomical projects by cutting funds from current projects. Arecibo was one of the larger targets for cuts, with a proposed removal of $2.5 million over the next few years. It became clear that if Arecibo could not find the financial resources from elsewhere, the venerable observatory could close down in 2011. Not only would this be a major loss to astronomy but also a blow to the economy of Puerto Rico and its important contribution to the science education of the population.
On April 14, the governor of Puerto Rico and the director of the National Astronomy and Ionospheric Center (NAIC) signed a $2.3 million agreement between the semi-autonomous United States territory and the agency that Cornell manages Arecibo through for the NSF. The “Inspiration to Science” program will allow tens of thousands of Puerto Rican school children to visit Arecibo annually to see how the observatory scientists work and receive personal instruction from facility staff consonant with their academic curricula. To handle this influx of students, two new teaching scientists and an aide will be hired. The Puerto Rico Department of Education will provide for the resource needs of the students participating in this program.
Image: Arecibo’s observatory appears to have new life ahead, a plus not only for observational science but the search for dangerous near-Earth objects. Credit: Lee Bennett/ATPM.
“For more than forty years, the Arecibo Observatory has been part of Puerto Rico, an icon recognizably identified with the island worldwide,” said NAIC Director Robert Brown at the signing ceremony. “With the agreement signed today, the people of Puerto Rico become fully part of the Arecibo Observatory, cementing a new relationship that will also become a proud heritage of Puerto Rico.”
As the “Inspiration to Science” initiative was inaugurated, another effort to save the Arecibo facility outright was launched thanks to the efforts of New York Democratic senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who filed a bill to make the NSF reinstate its funding for the observatory.
Some residents noted that though the action by Clinton is welcome, the fact that it is happening less than two months before Puerto Rico’s final Democratic primary elections on June 1 leaves them wondering just how altruistic Clinton’s motivations were.
“Arecibo has been in peril for a while now,” said Andros Lopez to the Orlando Sentinel, an attorney and a co-director of the local campaign to elect rival Democratic candidate Barak Obama. “That she, by chance, finds about it now is an example of the type of old politics that Obama wants to change. The timing is more than suspect.” Lopez did add that he was grateful nevertheless to see that Clinton “finally pays attention to an issue that pertains to us.”
Arecibo Director Robert Kerr was just grateful for the Clinton’s desire to help the observatory, whatever the ultimate motivation.
“I am quite convinced that the excellence of the Arecibo Observatory will prevail,” declared Kerr regarding Clinton’s actions of support.
Senator Clinton’s Senate office published a release about her support for Arecibo, noting that “Cornell University scientists have used the remarkable tools available at Arecibo Observatory to greatly expand our understanding of the Universe. I am proud to support the path-blazing accomplishments of these New Yorkers.”
Regarding the actual stands of the major presidential candidates when it comes to science and space science in particular, Popular Mechanics recently reported on the candidates’ public declarations for national space policy and the reality behind their statements and motivations, which can be read online here.
A recent CNN report quoted experts in the space and military fields expressing the strong hope that the candidates will go beyond their spoken platitudes and address space policy in earnest soon. Not only are there political considerations to contend with in keeping America’s space program at the forefront, but having a robust ability to understand and monitor the Universe with such instruments as the Arecibo radio telescope – one of humanity’s greatest tools for studying and ultimately preventing NEOs that could strike Earth from hitting – is vital both for the United States and the rest of the world.
Hi Folks;
It would seem a shame if the Arecibo Dish was closed down. With all of the near Earth crossing asteriods that have come within say 2 to 8 lunar distances from Earth over the past several decades, some of which have come almost unanounced, I have strong misgivings about the closure of this facility.
It could also be used, as we alll know, to broadcast signals out into space for possible ETI reception. We might broadcast at the carrier wave frequecies for which the Arecibo dish operates in either analogue or digital format.
Otherwise, I seem to have a mild emotional attachment to that big dish that inspired a sense of awe and respect in me when I use to read about it as a grade schooler. I’d almost hate to see the facility closed down.
Thanks;
Jim
At the recent SEED Magazine session for congressional staffers in Washington that I had the privilege to moderate, Greg Matloff went a good deal further. When asked about a possible Arecibo shutdown, he said that anyone who voted for such to happen, given the importance of Arecibo in detecting Earth-crossing asteroids, should be arraigned before the World Court in the Hague. I heartily agree!
Hi Paul
Does seem like mere penny-pinching while so many “deserving” programs should be cut off at the knees.
Hmmm… is “geocide by depraved indifference and neglect” a crime on the International Law Books?
Hi Adam and Paul;
Given the fact that a large Earth impacter could have the same devastating results as a Global nuclear war, its seem ludicrous to close the Arecibo facility or even think about closing it. There is a small chance, but one nonetheless, that the survival of our species might depend on facilities like that at Arecibo.
Thanks;
Your Friend Jim
Clintons (minus Hillary) visit Arecibo; former president urges
more federal funding for basic sciences
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/June08/arecibo.clintons.html
and:
Arecibo joins global network to create 6,000-mile telescope
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/June08/arecibo.vlbi.html
Extragalactic HI Surveys at Arecibo: the Future
Authors: Riccardo Giovanelli
(Submitted on 10 Jun 2008)
Abstract: Starting in the 1970s, the Arecibo 305m telescope has made seminal contributions in the field of extragalactic spectroscopy. With the Gregorian upgrade completed in the late 1990s, the telescope acquired a field of view. Population of that field of view with a seven-feed array at L-band (ALFA) increased by nearly one order of magnitude its survey speed.
As a result, much of the extragalactic astronomy time of the telescope is now allocated to survey projects, which are briefly discussed. The next technical development stage for the 305m telescope is foreseen as that of a 40 beam system that would take advantage of phased array technology: AO40. This would further speed up the survey performance of the telescope.
It is shown how the figure of merit for survey speed of AO40 would be comparable with that of SKA-precursor facilities, planned for operation in the next decade. A number of scientifically desirable new surveys that would become possible with AO40 are briefly discussed.
Comments: To appear in AIP Conference Proceedings, “The Evolution of Galaxies through the Neutral Hydrogen Window”, Feb 1-3 2008, Arecibo, Puerto Rico, eds. R. Minchin & E. Momjian. 6 pages including 1 figure
Subjects: Astrophysics (astro-ph)
Cite as: arXiv:0806.1714v1 [astro-ph]
Submission history
From: Riccardo Giovanelli [view email]
[v1] Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:49:13 GMT (325kb)
http://arxiv.org/abs/0806.1714
The Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) Extragalactic HI Survey
Authors: Martha P. Haynes, the ALFALFA Team
(Submitted on 10 Jun 2008)
Abstract: The Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) survey is a program aimed at obtaining a census of HI-bearing objects over a cosmologically significant volume of the local universe. When complete in ~3-4 years, it will cover 7000 square degrees of high latitude sky using the 305m telescope and the seven-beam Arecibo L-band feed array (ALFA).
As of May 1, 2008, almost 60% of the required observations are complete and a catalog exists in preliminary form for 25% of the final sky area.
ALFALFA is detecting about twice as many HI sources as predicted based on previously published HI mass functions and should deliver a final catalog of >25000 extragalactic HI sources. ALFALFA will detect hundreds of galaxies with HI masses less than 10**7.5 solar masses and similarly large numbers greater than 10**10.3 Msun. Its centroiding accuracy allows for the immediate identification of highly probably optical counterparts to each HI detection. Fewer than 3% of all extragalactic HI sources, and 10**9.5 Msun cannot be identified with a stellar counterpart.
The hundreds of HI sources with observed line widths of 20-30 km/s include a population of optically faint dwarf galaxies. The objects with highest HI masses exhibit a range of morphologies, optical colors and surface brightnesses, but most appear to be massive disk systems. The latter represent the population likely to dominate future studies of HI at high redshift.
Comments: To appear in AIP Conference Proceedings, “The Evolution of Galaxies through the Neutral Hydrogen Window”, Feb 1-3 2008, Arecibo, Puerto Rico, eds. R. Minchin & E. Momjian. 3 pages
Subjects: Astrophysics (astro-ph)
Cite as: arXiv:0806.1670v1 [astro-ph]
Submission history
From: Martha Haynes P [view email]
[v1] Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:11:48 GMT (17kb)
http://arxiv.org/abs/0806.1670
HI Cosmology at z=0: a Brief Review
Authors: Riccardo Giovanelli
(Submitted on 10 Jun 2008)
Abstract: Extragalactic HI astronomy is half a century old. Its maturity dramatically increased in the 1970s, with the commissioning of new powerful facilities. Its contributions to Cosmology are important, from the observation of galaxy rotation curves that showed the presence of dark matter in galaxies, to the measurement of cosmological parameters and the mapping of the large scale structure of the Universe.
The Arecibo telecope has played a key role in these developments. It is also currently engaged in a number of experiments that utilize its L-band feed array to map thousands of square degrees of the sky and obtain the most sensitive large-scale view of the low z HI Universe.
Comments: To appear in AIP Conference Proceedings, “The Evolution of Galaxies through the Neutral Hydrogen Window”, Feb 1-3 2008, Arecibo, Puerto Rico, eds. R. Minchin & E. Momjian. 7 pages including 2 figures
Subjects: Astrophysics (astro-ph)
Cite as: arXiv:0806.1712v1 [astro-ph]
Submission history
From: Riccardo Giovanelli [view email]
[v1] Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:40:46 GMT (282kb)
http://arxiv.org/abs/0806.1712
Save Arecibo Observatory
Arecibo Observatory, the world’s largest radio telescope and the
source for the SETI@home data that your computer analyzes,
faces massive budget cuts that will END its ability to continue
the search for life beyond Earth.
The decision to ensure full funding currently rests upon votes in
Congress on Senate Bill S. 2862 and House Resolution H.R. 3737.
These bills desperately need more support.
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=25873
Save a Telescope, Save the Planet! – Press Conference Calls
for Continued Funding of Arecibo
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=25883
Save Arecibo Observatory
The Planetary Society today joined with US Congressman Dana
Rohrabacher, 46th District of California, to call for greater support
for near-Earth object research and continued funding of the Arecibo
radiotelescope to track potentially threatening objects in space.
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=25873
Steve Ostro, who did much to fight for the continued operation
of the Arecibo Observatory, has passed away:
http://www.planetary.org/news/2008/1216_Steve_Ostro_and_the_fight_for_Arecibo.html
Chronicle Online e-News Report calls Arecibo Observatory ‘uniquely powerful’ for detecting near-Earth objects
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Sept09/AreciboNAS.html
Sept. 29, 2009
By Anne Ju – amj8@cornell.edu
The Arecibo Observatory provides “unmatched precision and accuracy” in detecting asteroids or comets that could hit the Earth, says a report by the National Academy of Sciences.
That statement could help secure the observatory’s future. The world-famous, Cornell-run radio telescope’s unsurpassed capabilities for taking precise, clear pictures of these near-earth objects (NEOs) are laid out plainly in the recently released interim report, “Near-Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies.”
Mandated by Congress in 2008, the report was written by a survey committee appointed by the National Research Council, which is the operational arm of the National Academy of Sciences. A final report is due out in December.