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Budget Cuts Threaten Arecibo Observatory; The Planetary Society Continues the Fight on Capitol Hill

Send this story to a friend - Slashdot - Digg this - Reddit - Del.icio.us - Newsvine - NowPublic Click to enlarge > Arecibo Observatory Credit: NAIC - Arecibo Observatory, a facility of the NSF

The future of the Arecibo radio observatory, the largest and most sensitive radio telescope in the world, continues to hang in the balance. In 2007, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the agency that funds Arecibo, announced that it will drastically scale down support for the observatory over the coming years. According to current plans, by 2011 the NSF will cut funds from their current level of $10.4 million, to a mere $4 million.

This will have a devastating effect on the facility, and put all ongoing research in doubt. In particular, Arecibo's radar operations, used to track Near Earth Objects (NEO's) and map the surfaces of planets and moons, will be terminated.

In response, The Planetary Society is continuing its fight to save the Arecibo observatory. The Society has a long supported the research at Arecibo, not just the tracking of NEO's but also planetary science and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI).  Over the past year Society representatives have testified and represented our members' concern over Arecibo to Congressional committees.

In the coming days, Dr. Louis Friedman, the Society's Executive Director, will forward additional letters to the House and Senate asking that they ensure that Arecibo is adequately funded and kept open. "Funding for Arecibo is safe for the next two years," Friedman said, "but after that the situation is in doubt, and the Earth is in danger."

Closing down Arecibo's radar will have a crippling effect on astronomers' ability to track NEO's and evaluate the risk they pose to the Earth. According to Don Yeomans, manager of the NASA Near Earth Objects program , radar can track space rocks with unparalleled precision, accurately plotting their course 400 years into the future. Such long-term predictions are essential if we are to have sufficient forewarning of an impending impact, enabling us to prepare or perhaps avert a catastrophe.

Furthermore, radar observations can characterize the size, shape, and rotation of a space rock in a way that optical observations cannot. This can also be crucial for evaluating the risk posed to our planet be a particular space rock. "It pays to know what the enemy looks like" said Yeomans; "it makes a big difference if we're dealing with an ex-cometary fluff-ball or a slab of solid iron."

Currently there are only two radar facilities in the United States tracking NEO's, one at Arecibo and one at the Deep Space Network facility in Goldstone, California. The Goldstone radio telescope is a traditional dish that can be pointed in different directions and cover a relatively large portion of the sky. The giant Arecibo dish is dug into the ground and can only look upwards, but its approximately 300 meter diameter makes it the most powerful radar in the world, able to track asteroids that are beyond Goldstone’s reach. Losing it would cause severe damage to scientists' ability to monitor NEO's and the threat they pose.

The fight to save Arecibo has now shifted to Capitol Hill. A Senate bill introduced by Senator Hillary Clinton in April (S. 2862), and an identical bill put before the House by Puerto Rico Comissioner Luis Fortuno (H.R. 3737), directs the NSF to ensure that Arecibo remains fully funded and operational.

A separate bill passed by the House of Representatives (H.R. 6063) on June 18 authorizes NASA to spend $2 million on Arecibo in 2009, to make up for funds withdrawn by the NSF. A similar Authorization Bill making its way through the Senate, however, has deleted all mention of Arecibo and only charges NASA with maintaining the capability provided by the Goldstone facility. Prospects for all these bills are very uncertain at this time.

The Planetary Society is keeping a close watch on Congress’ actions and will continue to update its Members on the fight to save Arecibo.