Why losing Arecibo is a big deal for astronomy

The giant radio telescope had special features that aren’t easily replaced

Collapsed Arecibo telescope

On December 1, the 900-metric ton platform of scientific instruments suspended above the Arecibo telescope crashed down into the dish. The disaster marks the end of Arecibo’s 57-year tenure as one of the world’s premier radio telescopes.

Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images

Edgard Rivera-Valentín first visited the Arecibo Observatory as a little kid.