美阿雷西博望远镜坍塌

Arecibo Observatory collapses

美阿雷西博望远镜坍塌

The instrument platform of the 305-meter telescope at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico collapsed overnight, according to the National Science Foundation.

美国国家科学基金会确认，位于波多黎各的阿雷西博望远镜的设备平台坍塌。阿雷西博望远镜口径305米，是地球上最强大的望远镜之一，坍塌是对它的最后一击。

It's a final blow to one of the most powerful telescopes on Earth that has aided astronomical discoveries for 57 years and withstood hurricanes, earthquakes and tropical storms.

工作57年来，阿雷西博望远镜为众多天文发现提供了帮助，并经受住了飓风、地震和热带风暴的考验。

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Engineers assessed the damage and determined that all three of the telescope's support towers broke off, sending the 900-ton instrument platform plummeting down to the dish below.

工程师已评估了损坏情况，确定望远镜的三个支撑塔全部断裂，重达900吨的设备平台坠落到下面的碟形反射盘上。

The telescope's support cables also dropped.

此外，望远镜的支撑钢缆也已断裂。

The collapse occurred just weeks after NSF announced that the telescope would be decommissioned and disassembled through a controlled demolition after sustaining irreparable damage earlier this year.

几周前，美国国家科学基金会宣布，阿雷西博望远镜在今年早些时候遭受了无法修补的损毁，将被关闭并以可控方式拆除。