A bit of context here: I've wanted to go here for... I don't know, about twenty years? But it was too far away, too expensive, too inconvenient, and there's no way they'd allow tourists onto the platform itself. And then, a few months ago, I got an email from one of the scientists there, asking if I wanted to film with them. Getting to do ridiculous things like this is one of the reasons I make videos, and I really am so, so thankful to everyone involved!
@@xzero1299 i dont think so. the only reason why that telescope is up was because the airforce needed something to spy on the soviets. The only way i would see it rebuilt would be if the military needed something like that again, and somehow i think they will do better than a radiotelescope next time. What i do hope is that it can atleast be repurposed into a better museum with more exhibits, but seeing the state of the island it is also unlikely.
@@antoniorsoftware which doesn't work the same way. There is currently nothing in operation that will replace it's work like for like. Can't remember the exact difference but it's something to do with the way it measured radar bounce back or something.
the whole thing could collapse and kill him, but he's wearing a hard hat and thus will survive Edit: yes, I know arecibo is being torn down, I'm sad too Edit 2: yes, I know arecibo fell down, I'm sad too Edit 3: YES, WE ALL KNOW ARECIBO FELL DOWN, YOU DONT HAVE TO KEEP TELLING ME
For 17 years I’ve known this place. It was very dear to me as a science enthusiast. It’s end has devastated me and many others. Thank you Tom Scott for visiting while you still had the chance.
@@HimboJimbo GTA, it's better most people aren't aware, there would be more chaos and economic hardships. I plan on enjoying my warm house, food and youtube for as long as possible
I hate to be that guy, i wanted to be informative though, it was actually decommissioned 3 weeks before due to safety concerns after 2 support wires snapped.
"Our mirror is polished to within a few atoms accuracy." --a visible-light astronomer "Wait, does that mean you can't even have moss growing in your dish?!" --a radio astronomer
It's so refreshing hearing the people in Tom's videos. They always have such passion for the things they are working on. You can tell it's more than just their job that they're working on.
In recent years there were plans going on to repair it, but since the whole construction was very unsafe to work in, the engineers even stated, it would be the best to demolish it.
I wonder what the engineers thought when the physicist told them what they needed ' We want a precision telescope to hang on wires and also move around'
It'll never be the same but maybe it'll be better with new technologies and design. The slogan of the upcoming, very pro-science Biden administration is "Build Back Better".
@@maximumkane96 The collapse didn't really change the outcome. It was too degraded anyway. You know what rebuilding means? Razing and constructing from scratch, with major redesigns and improvements too.
My condolances to everyone that worked there or on or with it. It must hurt deeply to loose such an icon that was also so very useful. Especially so suddenly :(
7 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 8 AM Atlantic Time, 4 AM Pacific Time and Noon UTC, was when the 900 ton instrument platform fell into the dish. Sad day indeed. We got 57 amazing years of service from it, thankfully. It was such an icon of astronomy.
Rogue Transmission. My favourite map! Fun Fact: Rogue Transmission is based of Arecibo but is fictitious and set in China. However, shortly before Battlefield 4 was released but likely while the map Rogue Transmission was already in development (I can't confirm this, but it is likely based on the typical development period of a AAA shooter), China began construction on their radio telescope, "Tianyan".
I'd like to think that somewhere out there Sean Bean is watching this youtube video and saying to himself. "I totally died there" and closes his web browser feeling ever so pleased with himself.
AMAZING! You went to Arecibo, Puerto Rico! This video was most needed to show the world the importance of Arecibo Radiotelescope. I visited it around 20 times when I was younger and always amazed me. The next time that you visit the Island send me a message and I can arrange visits to other places. Like always, great content!
I just heard the news this morning about the collapse of the Arecibo observatory platform. I didn't know it was in such a shape as that would ever happen, but I didn't know that last month (Nov 2020) and in August (2020) cables had snapped and when the second one went, they already deemed the radio telescope as a loss. That is really a sad shame given as to how much this observatory has given us since the 60's when it was built. I am aware they built a larger on in China in 2016, but from what I understand, that one cannot do everything that Arecibo could do. Also it was featured in two major movies (that I am aware of), Contact and Goldeneye. So it is saddening to hear of the loss of this magnificent structure.
Seaman Staines - Haha, classic. Not only one of the best Bond lines ever, but also one of the best film lines too. Up there with "Gone With The Wind". :-)
Terribly sad news that it will be decommissioned because it is not safe to go near and fix. I hope donations will pour in like for Notre Dame to rebuild it.
The telescope in GoldenEye was heavily based on Aricebo, but there were changes made to be more action friendly (such as making the dish solid and adding a cable car).
Luckily, since it's a radio telescope and radio waves can easily penetrate several centimeters of just about anything that isn't metallic, a thin layer of dirt, dust, dry leaves and other crap on the reflector probably isn't a problem.
This video hits different now. Though this brings up a good topic. Since they already knew one of the cables snapped in Nov 2020, and they were monitoring the cable stability, prior to and during the crash. There were people on the property, I assume within building and doing other stuff. I'm guessing there were regulations to not have people on climbing up the catwalk/exc. for the foreseeable future. Also if a cable already snapped, then why wasn't it fixed and only monitored. I get the feeling there was no possible fix for it and they knew it was inevitably going to have to crash. I wonder how much of the damage was anticipated.
Welp... it's gone now. It was in bad shape for years and years and no one gave it the maintenance it needed. They instead chose to just let it rot until it broke apart in catastrophic failure.
A bit of context here: I've wanted to go here for... I don't know, about twenty years? But it was too far away, too expensive, too inconvenient, and there's no way they'd allow tourists onto the platform itself. And then, a few months ago, I got an email from one of the scientists there, asking if I wanted to film with them. Getting to do ridiculous things like this is one of the reasons I make videos, and I really am so, so thankful to everyone involved!
Drink. Copiously.
And then once the fog cleared, make it happen.
All good ideas start in the pub
Tom Scott, we need to replace "60 minutes" with you!
"Inconceivable!"
Can you make a video on how much you travel? It feels like every week you are on a new continent.
RIP Arecibo. Served a good life.
RIP Indeed. all the cables snapped today. no saving it now
Hopefully we will see it rebuild one day
@@xzero1299 i dont think so. the only reason why that telescope is up was because the airforce needed something to spy on the soviets.
The only way i would see it rebuilt would be if the military needed something like that again, and somehow i think they will do better than a radiotelescope next time.
What i do hope is that it can atleast be repurposed into a better museum with more exhibits, but seeing the state of the island it is also unlikely.
Arecibo still alive .. is the telescope that broke not the town
1 WEEK AGO
This is now a documentary, and a memorial
Ironically it got featured in The Collapse of A Giant. In spanish, called El Colapso de Un gigante made by a news reporter called Deborah Martorell
"Our biggest eye and ear just closed" - Thank you to all the staff and researchers at Arecibo
Except there is a bigger one in China.
@@antoniorsoftware which doesn't work the same way. There is currently nothing in operation that will replace it's work like for like. Can't remember the exact difference but it's something to do with the way it measured radar bounce back or something.
Not really.
Jodrel bank software upgrade and voila.
Bigger better.
@@kimjonglongdong3158 the one in China can only listen for radio waves. Arecibo could emit radar waves and observe the reflected waves.
@@shananvarsha Thank you :)
"One day it might just save the world" Oh no we've doomed ourselves
the whole thing could collapse and kill him, but he's wearing a hard hat and thus will survive
Edit: yes, I know arecibo is being torn down, I'm sad too
Edit 2: yes, I know arecibo fell down, I'm sad too
Edit 3: YES, WE ALL KNOW ARECIBO FELL DOWN, YOU DONT HAVE TO KEEP TELLING ME
It was our only hope for 2020
well, the day that puerto rico becomes your only hope, you better be counting on baseball players and mofongo
@@amandaprew5396 It took me too long to realize that you didn't edit your comment.
@@carbon5362 meths....
*Always in our hearts*
Always. 😔
Now it's gone for good. RIP
Rest In Peace Arecibo, you were my favourite radio telescope.
F
RIP
1:05 "This platform isn't static, big parts of it move" you were sort of right Tom, in the saddest way possible
Oh god. 😭
Big parts move just not in the intended way
For 17 years I’ve known this place. It was very dear to me as a science enthusiast. It’s end has devastated me and many others. Thank you Tom Scott for visiting while you still had the chance.
Devastated is the exact word I use when I describe my feeling of the loss of Arecibo.
It is soo wered to think that where he was standing fore most of the video(the platform) no longer exists.
"One day, it might just save the world"
_collapses_
we're so doomed and we know it
@@IRosamelia We do, but most of the world? Nah
@@HimboJimbo GTA, it's better most people aren't aware, there would be more chaos and economic hardships. I plan on enjoying my warm house, food and youtube for as long as possible
@@IRosamelia Same here
I hate to be that guy, i wanted to be informative though, it was actually decommissioned 3 weeks before due to safety concerns after 2 support wires snapped.
This video didn’t age well
no it did not.
it really didnt
true
-"It just might save the world"...
-2020 has entered the chat.
yup... this is awkward
"Our mirror is polished to within a few atoms accuracy." --a visible-light astronomer
"Wait, does that mean you can't even have moss growing in your dish?!" --a radio astronomer
Penny Lane hahaha😂😂😂
"WHAT!? You can get signals to do something other than bounce off the atmosphere?" -Short-wave spectrum specialist
"I don't see what you guys are saying, but I can definitely hear you talking." -- gravitational wave researcher
Penny Lane
"I feel dumb right now." -High school kid who takes physics next year
u should prpbably warch veritasium about gravitional wave discovery. this radio telescope would be just a toy.
It could help save the world!
2020: And i took that personally
😑-_-_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_--_-_
Whoops
Incredibly sad the damage they sustained from the storms this year, though pretty fortunate you were able to get there before it did.
:/
And today even worse damage :(
Wild that this comment doesn't seem like it's from 3 years ago. RIP Arecibo Telescope
R.I.P. Arecibo :(
It's so refreshing hearing the people in Tom's videos. They always have such passion for the things they are working on. You can tell it's more than just their job that they're working on.
Rest In Peace ARECIBO !
Thanks for your amazing service for discovering the universe / 1963-2020
The fact that you made this means so much to me. Thank you so much. Much love from a Puerto Rican physics student
How AvA woH Boricua!
Well, this did not age well. On the other hand, it's 2020, so...
You did good, dish, you did good. Pity it couldn't get funding in the modern era to prevent what just happened.
Hopefully the Biden administration will fund the construction of a better one.
In recent years there were plans going on to repair it, but since the whole construction was very unsafe to work in, the engineers even stated, it would be the best to demolish it.
I hope they'll be able to continue their mission somewhere else. Rest in peace Arecibo, 1963-2020, lest we forget.
RIP Arecibo, another casuality of 2020
*casualty
@@meriwoo7382 fixed
Had to come back to this after I heard the news
I wonder what the engineers thought when the physicist told them what they needed ' We want a precision telescope to hang on wires and also move around'
Steven m Nothing. They just nodded and smiled, silently.
neoqueto this is fine.jpg
You don't need a massive amount of precision for radio-wavelength telescopes, really.
Chinese physicists to chinese engineers:
"We want Arecibo, but larger"
And so FAST was conceived.
"Hold my beer..."
We've lost a major part of scientific history. It'll never be the same. Rest in peace.
It'll never be the same but maybe it'll be better with new technologies and design. The slogan of the upcoming, very pro-science Biden administration is "Build Back Better".
Not just scientific, but pop culture as well.
Sad, sad news today.
God I hope we can rebuild bigger and better
I agree - rebuild to last 100 years
Welp, so much for that
@@maximumkane96 The collapse didn't really change the outcome. It was too degraded anyway. You know what rebuilding means? Razing and constructing from scratch, with major redesigns and improvements too.
R.I.P Arecibo Telescope, 2020 strikes yet again.
This is one of the best(and my fav) videos you guys have done this year. Awesome work Matt and Tom 👏
My condolances to everyone that worked there or on or with it. It must hurt deeply to loose such an icon that was also so very useful. Especially so suddenly :(
"loose"
ha
Now we learn the Arecibo has collapse overnight instead of disassembled. Sad day today
7 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 8 AM Atlantic Time, 4 AM Pacific Time and Noon UTC, was when the 900 ton instrument platform fell into the dish. Sad day indeed. We got 57 amazing years of service from it, thankfully.
It was such an icon of astronomy.
GMT Hi Noon for Aricebo.
@@500freefall well I though this when it was discover that it already collapsed. l admit my mistakes.
Came back to that video after seeing the damage that occured today, fixing it will take a long time :(
F
Aaaand now the NSF will be decomissioning of the telescope sadly. :'l
No more fixing OR decommissioning now ;-;
You were wonderful Arecibo, thank you for your long service.
2020: “Allow me to introduce myself...”
Yup
24 days bro.
@@Alsry1 You think 2021 is going to be any better? 😂 You're in the new world order watching as society crumbles.
@@NukelearFallout *Especially with the world's choice of president*
Jk
@@NukelearFallout Ugh what?
Rogue Transmission. My favourite map!
Fun Fact: Rogue Transmission is based of Arecibo but is fictitious and set in China. However, shortly before Battlefield 4 was released but likely while the map Rogue Transmission was already in development (I can't confirm this, but it is likely based on the typical development period of a AAA shooter), China began construction on their radio telescope, "Tianyan".
Google made me realise why this has appeared back in my recommended in 2020.
I hope the damage can be repaired.
Nope, it can only be rebuilt. Maybe we can build it on the moon this time since we are now officially going back to the moon.
@@specialed6357 That was back in August, when there was a different incident. All over now.
"Arecibo can detect asteroids that are going to hit the earth"
Well, I guess we know what's going to happen on December 31st 2020 then!
Rest well my friend...💔💔💔
Here after the collapse:
Rest In Peace Arecibo ✌🏽
You were fortunate to have visited. RIP, Arecibo.
rip this telescope, documented in an immortal bf4 map
I'd like to think that somewhere out there Sean Bean is watching this youtube video and saying to himself. "I totally died there" and closes his web browser feeling ever so pleased with himself.
Thanks for that video! The female scientist you interviewed was genuinly excited, loved it!
It must be rebuilt - the world still needs to be saved...
RIP Arecibo. Came back to watch this video again after the collapse
AMAZING! You went to Arecibo, Puerto Rico! This video was most needed to show the world the importance of Arecibo Radiotelescope. I visited it around 20 times when I was younger and always amazed me. The next time that you visit the Island send me a message and I can arrange visits to other places. Like always, great content!
Of all the days to see this. Sad to see it go.
It seems to be about to collapse after two support cables tore, unfortunately, according to the news :( .
Its gone
@@petermeuller7355 gone, gone, gone
I did my internship there! Was an amazing experience. You should also check how everything looks below the plate.
I just heard the news this morning about the collapse of the Arecibo observatory platform. I didn't know it was in such a shape as that would ever happen, but I didn't know that last month (Nov 2020) and in August (2020) cables had snapped and when the second one went, they already deemed the radio telescope as a loss. That is really a sad shame given as to how much this observatory has given us since the 60's when it was built. I am aware they built a larger on in China in 2016, but from what I understand, that one cannot do everything that Arecibo could do. Also it was featured in two major movies (that I am aware of), Contact and Goldeneye. So it is saddening to hear of the loss of this magnificent structure.
If you live in the US contact your represenative to keep it funded.
Contact them to get it rebuilt!
Hubble Moonshots.
Can't fund scrap metal.
Rest In Peace, giant telescope. You will be sorely missed.
OMG! Welcome to Puerto Rico! Thank you so much for coming, I really hope you liked it here.
1:07 they sure move alright
R.I.P. Arecibo..
2020 is a mess. This is heartbreaking :(
How the HELL does this telescope survive HURRICANE after HURRICANE every single year?!
Well...
You jinxed it
Aged as coal
lmao
*remembers trying to collapse something like this in Battlefield 4*
Ahh it was you
For England, Tom?
No, for me.
Seaman Staines - Haha, classic. Not only one of the best Bond lines ever, but also one of the best film lines too. Up there with "Gone With The Wind". :-)
No... for Great Britain
No, for the You Kay
It was so important that no-one could be bothered to look after it.
Terribly sad news that it will be decommissioned because it is not safe to go near and fix. I hope donations will pour in like for Notre Dame to rebuild it.
It’s gone
@@postalpacifist88 At least no one was injured. Really hope they rebuild.
This video might just be enough to gain the public support needed to have this wonderful instrument restored, share far and wide everyone...
Such a tragic, and preventable, loss
2020 update: “How The World Could Have Helped Saving The Arecibo Telescope”
Is this where they filmed GoldenEye?
That's what I thought as well! Totally looks like it.
Tom Howard yes
Tom Howard yes !
and contact!
The telescope in GoldenEye was heavily based on Aricebo, but there were changes made to be more action friendly (such as making the dish solid and adding a cable car).
Awesome video Tom! Thanks for everything you do. Keep up the good work.
Well, I envy you got to see it... R.I.P. Arecibo telescope...
In this video, you can already see how rusted the structure was and how outdated the control instruments were. The writing was on the wall.
And like look at the dish itself. Has ANY work been done on it since it was built??
RIP Arecibo Telescope (1963 - 2020)
It won't discover anything any more. It collapsed today.
USA 1963 Arecibo
China 2018 FAST
(apparently not fast enough)
revisiting this gem
😥rip one of the greatest telescope's in the world
Only now that you mentioned it on the park bench I noticed the edit, nicely done
I seriously wonder if they'll actually rebuild this. I hope so. The discoveries it's made so far should surely prove it's worth.
A replacement has been drafted but the original site can't be rebuilt, it's far too risky
RIP Arecibo. You were my favourite telescope. Thank you for everything.
As of this morning, the cable-mount receiver has collapsed. 😔
Oh noes!
We can't phone home.
“big parts of it move”
apparently not just as designed & intended
Press F to this telescope
Love the sound of London traffic in the background
Seeing this in October 2022, and feeling more than a bit sad that this marvel of engineering is no more.
I guess the world is doomed now? Rip Arecibo
build it again it was a Great service in Puerto Rico...and they where Proud of it Build it again
Looks like it needs a powerwash
shadows....
Luckily, since it's a radio telescope and radio waves can easily penetrate several centimeters of just about anything that isn't metallic, a thin layer of dirt, dust, dry leaves and other crap on the reflector probably isn't a problem.
I was wondering. Thanks.
Considering its size, (18 acres!) yes, it probably would.
I didn't even realize it's that big.
Until a few of the roombas start to vaporize under the beam.
Rest in Peace, Arecibo Observatory :(
Fitting video, as I am just finishing writing up my masters thesis on cosmology
L What was it about specifically?
It was a theory project about the accelerated expansion of the universe
L interesting, well done!
This video hits different now. Though this brings up a good topic. Since they already knew one of the cables snapped in Nov 2020, and they were monitoring the cable stability, prior to and during the crash. There were people on the property, I assume within building and doing other stuff. I'm guessing there were regulations to not have people on climbing up the catwalk/exc. for the foreseeable future. Also if a cable already snapped, then why wasn't it fixed and only monitored. I get the feeling there was no possible fix for it and they knew it was inevitably going to have to crash. I wonder how much of the damage was anticipated.
0:50 until the cables snapped...
It colapses today. Thank you for coming before it happened Tom.
RIP Arecibo :(
*Tom:* "One day it might just save the world"
*2020:* "I see your hopes & dreams and I raise you...
TO THE GROUND!"
Welp... it's gone now. It was in bad shape for years and years and no one gave it the maintenance it needed. They instead chose to just let it rot until it broke apart in catastrophic failure.
It sucks, I was planning to go there and then this happened.
Apparently they decided not to repair it because it was too risky for the reparation crew
@@hermannthefisherman2960 Yea they'll demolish it, they're probably not gonna build another one.
RIP Arecibo telescope
Rest in peace
It’s time for the world to save Arecibo instead. Let’s dedicate the site to something equally grand. Arecibo’s legacy deserves it.
I
15,910 hours crunching SETO data
Nice to see that they managed to repair it after James Bond scuffed it a bit, several years ago. Seriously, though, a fascinating video.
This collapsed today crazy
RIP Arecibo
"The Arecibo Telescope Could Help Save The World"
Sooo, about that...
Trevelyan: "For England James?"
James Bond: "No. For me."
Not anymore
Wow. You really stood there!!
the Arecibo telescope catwalks were also a filming location for the James Bond film 'GoldenEye' and the subsequent nintendo 64 game.
That was a hard level
Uh... The N64 game wasn't filmed.
Joshua Pearce, and what would a guy with an NES controller as his profile picture know about this?
Penny Lane You program a game.. Not film it..
I'm not going to be one-upped by a guy with an 8bit mushroom for an icon.