Zinc creep caused Arecibo telescope collapse in 2020
The gist
A US National Academies report found zinc creep in cable sockets caused the 2020 Arecibo telescope collapse.
It is the first documented case in over a century of use.
How it unfolded
- Nov 1, 1963A 305-metre radio telescope opened inside a natural valley in Puerto Rico.
- 2017Hurricane Maria hit; the National Academies report says the failure sequence began here, over three years before the collapse.
- 2020The 57-year-old telescope collapsed, with the main platform falling into the 305-metre reflector dish after cables pulled out of zinc-filled sockets.