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Puerto Rico. This science facility has the largest and most sensitive single radio telescope on Earth: One thousand feet across and 167 feet deep, the Arecibo telescope dish covers
the equivalent of 26 football fields and could hold
ten billion bowls of cereal. In terms of listening power, Arecibo could pick up a cell phone call from the planet Venus.
Arecibo Observatory has been an important part of astronomy and atmospheric sciences for Cornell University and the global science community since the facility's construction in 1963.
Cornell has managed Arecibo from the start, first for the US Air Force and then the National Science Foundation (NSF) when they took over in 1971. But now the NSF's Division of Astronomical Sciences has released a report from its Senior Review advisory panel recommending a 24 percent budget cut for funding the institution over the next three years, and then a forty percent decrease in funds through the year 2011 http://www.nsf.gov/mps/ast/ast_senior_review.jsp.
If Cornell cannot find another institution to help share in the expenses of operating Arecibo by that date, the NSF could consider closing down the observatory.
"The NSF has decided to cut the total budgets of their observatories by about 25 percent over the next three years in order to find about $20 million to $30 million in annual funds; these will be used for the operating costs of new telescopes and for the development of new instruments and telescopes," explained Joseph Burns, Cornell Vice Provost for Physical Sciences and Engineering.
"The Senior Review panel is addressing a real problem: How to maintain existing facilities and build new ones at the same time? Our aspirations often exceed our budget constraints," said Jim Cordes, Cornell astronomy professor.
Despite the age of Arecibo, the observatory's size and capabilities have kept it a vital tool for astronomers who would not be able to conduct their explorations of the universe without it.
As just one example, Cordes, who has been "heavily involved with Arecibo for the last thirty years," is currently part of a five-year project hunting for pulsars, rapidly rotating and densely packed neutron stars created from the fires of powerful stellar explosions known as supernovae. Past pulsar research conducted with Arecibo led to the discovery of the first planets beyond our Solar System and an important confirmation of Einstein's theory of general relativity.
"We need Arecibo," said Cordes. "There is nothing else like it until the Square Kilometer Array when it begins initial operations - 10 years from now."
Another area where Arecibo plays a vital and often unique role is in the study of near-earth Objects, or NEOs. These are planetoids and comets that have paths around the Sun, which come close to, and sometimes intersect with, our planet's solar orbit. In recent years there has been growing concern that one of these celestial bodies could actually collide with Earth, causing widespread destruction and the extinction of many species, including humanity.
"If we ever find a threatening asteroid, we can use Arecibo's radar capabilities really to understand its composition," said Burns. "Our facility is 25 times more sensitive than any other in the world for this task."
Despite these recommendations for budget cuts, the Cornell astronomers remain optimistic.
"Cornell has no plans to close Arecibo," said Cordes. "In fact, the NSF has provided funds to maintain the facility in the form of $5 million to conduct a high-tech paint job on the telescope. This should go far in keeping the observatory operating for another
20 years."
Both Burns and Cordes noted that in addition to helping Cornell remain at the forefront of astronomical research, the observatory also does a great deal for the local economy and education.
"Arecibo has a visitor facility and science museum that greets 120,000 visitors annually, more than any other NSF facility," said Burns. "We are the science classroom for Puerto Rican youth, and an icon for technology on the island."
Cordes sees the Arecibo NSF funding situation as part of a larger issue: Where does the United States want to stand in the sciences compared to the rest of the world?
"Europe and Australia are barreling ahead with scientific research. Does our society want to maintain the lead in this area? Do we want to fund many science projects or focus our budgets on just a select few?"
- Larry Klaes
