Puerto Rico's Arecibo Observatory Will Stay Open, Despite Funding Concerns

[Judi Lynn]

By Hanneke Weitering, Space.com Staff Writer | November 17, 2017 06:10pm ET

Two months since Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico, most of the island is still recovering from the disaster — including the Arecibo Observatory, home of the world's second-largest radio telescope. This week, the dozens of astronomers and other staff at the facility have some good news to celebrate: The Arecibo Observatory will remain open after years of being on the chopping block.

The National Science Foundation (NSF), which funds approximately two-thirds of the observatory's annual budget of $12 million, announced on Thursday (Nov. 16) that it will not shut down the Arecibo Observatory. This decision comes after more than a decade of discussions about the future of the 54-year-old observatory.

However, this good news comes with one drawback: The NSF still plans to withdraw much of the funding it gives to the observatory, reducing its annual contribution from $8.2 million to $2 million over the next five years, the journal Nature reports. But instead of leaving the observatory high and dry, the NSF is working to secure new partnerships with other institutions that can take over the burden of funding and managing the facility. [Arecibo Observatory: Puerto Rico's Giant Radio Telescope in Photos]

"This is very good news for the Arecibo Observatory and a huge win for the scientific community in general," Francisco Córdova, the observatory's director, told Nature. "There is definitely a sense of relief in the air."

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1. Thanks for posting this ! I saw a piece at WaPo earlier and was going to post it, but ...

it turned out to be a dull slide-show type video with very little info.

Glad to see this scientific treasure will continue to function.