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Posted on 09/21/2017 3:15:08 PM PDT by BenLurkin

While the facility has been closed all week for the hurricane, a handful of staff members had remained inside the observatory, waiting for the storm to pass.

"Most cell towers and all landlines are down," Aya Collins, a spokeswoman for the National Science Foundation (NSF), told Space.com in an email. With no power, phones or internet, the people of Puerto Rico have very limited means of communication with the outside world. "We haven't received any official communications from the Arecibo Observatory," Collins said.

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USRA update noted that "one observatory staff member located in the town of Arecibo contacted via short-wave radio reports that trees are down, power is out, houses damaged and roads impassable."

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Despite the long wait, the staff at the Arecibo Observatory should be able to manage until help arrives. "They have fuel to run the generators, a well for water, and enough food for week," Collins said.

And even though the roads are flooded across Puerto Rico, the giant radio telescope at Arecibo should be relatively dry. It is located more than 1,000 feet (300 meters) above sea level, and the dish does not accumulate rainwater because it is made out of a mesh-like material, Collins said. And just in case waters rise, Collins said "there is a sump-pump under the dish with its own diesel generator."

(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...

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