The CEDAR 2021 workshop took place virtually between 20 June and 25 June 2021. It consisted of plenary talks in the mornings followed by multiple parallel sessions. The participation of the Space and Atmospheric Science (SAS) scientists of Arecibo Observatory (AO) in CEDAR 2021 workshop was extensive and well-received. AO scientists were first authors for five presentations and served as co-authors for additional presentations. AO senior scientist Shikha Raizada was invited to deliver two presentations while AO scientists Christiano Brum, Selvaraj Dharmalingam and Sukanta Sau contributed one presentation each. + Read More

On December 1st, 2020, the 900-ton instrument platform of the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico suffered a series of cascading catastrophic cable failures causing it to crash down into the telescope’s 305-meter reflector dish. This followed a November 2020 safety evaluation which found that the main platform support cables may not be capable of supporting the load expected and decommissioning should commence. 

By early January 2021, the University of Central Florida (UCF), operators of the Observatory for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NSF established an Arecibo Observatory (AO) Salvage Survey Committee. + Read More

A massive, iconic tool for exploring the cosmos went dark on December 1, 2020, as the 900 ton platform of the William E Gordon telescope fell 150 meters from its suspended height into the 305-meter radio dish below. The telescope, which held the title of "world’s largest single dish telescope" from its inception in 1963 until 2016, suffered a series of surprising cable breaks beginning in August 2020 that led to the telescope’s premature dissolution.   + Read More