Good news !

Good news !

Initial reports, received via ham radio, indicated significant damage to some of the facility's scientific instruments. But Nicholas White, a senior vice president at the Universities Space Research Association, which helps run the observatory, tells NPR that the latest information is that a secondary 40-foot dish, thought destroyed, is still intact: "There was some damage to it, but not a lot," he says.

"So far, the only damage that's confirmed is that one of the line feeds on the antenna for one of the radar systems was lost," White says. That part was suspended high above the telescope's main 1,000-foot dish, which lost some panels when it shook loose and fell down.

It certainly does look strange without the line feed, but from this angle at least, it doesn't look like the damage to the dish is all that extensive.

AFAIK, the line feed is only used for atmospheric studies, not astronomy. Having more holes in the dish won't actually make a lot of difference for many studies - it's already got a 900 tonne platform blocking the aperture and plenty of holes anyway. Obviously it's not a good thing, but it does suggest that getting the astronomy side of things up and running again isn't crazy. What might be more limiting than the hardware is the staff availability given the widespread infrastructure damage to the rest of the island.

Originally shared by Vladimir Pecha

The Arecibo Observatory: Still standing after #HurricaneMaria! We suffered some damages, but nothing that can't be repaired or replaced! More updates to follow in the coming days as we complete our detailed inspections. We stand together with Puerto Rico as we recover from this storm.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/25/553594041/puerto-ricos-arecibo-radio-telescope-suffers-hurricane-damage