Aerial View Shows Damage to Arecibo Observatory After Collapse

A resident of Puerto Rico captured aerial footage of the Arecibo Observatory after the telescope’s 900-ton receiver platform fell onto the reflector dish more than 400 feet below on December 1.

Carlos G Saavedra Padin recorded this footage while on a helicopter and posted it to Twitter.

Padin told Storyful he took the helicopter ride to see the condition of the observatory after photos of the damage were leaked.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) reported the instrument platform of the Arecibo Observatory telescope, the second-largest single-dish radio telescope in the world according to space.com, fell at some point in the early morning hours.

No injuries were reported on the date of the collapse. Credit: @CarlosG_2003 via Storyful