
It has just been announced that the huge radio telescope in Puerto Rico has collapsed.
The Arecibo Observatory telescope was one of the largest in the world, a key scientific resource that had been instrumental in pushing the boundaries of radio astronomy.
The US National Science Foundation (NSF) said the telescope’s 900-ton instrument platform fell onto a reflector dish some 450ft (137m) below. It came just weeks after it was announced that the telescope would be dismantled amid safety fears, following damage to its support system.