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Who wrote this @apod?! Arecibo was not "past its prime". Arecibo was a world-class instrument delivering modern, award-winning science (and not only from its prime focus but its other receivers as well). Please update this caption, it does a great disservice to the observatory.
The last 14 years have seen Arecibo’s maintenance deferred due to budget cuts. Despite the financial neglect, the observatory’s instruments continued to produce modern, relevant science until the cable failure in August. https://twitter.com/fcain/status/1336697042903605252
That Arecibo continued to produce excellent, relevant science on top of asteroid impact mitigation work is a testament to the dedication of the maintenance crews, engineers, and scientists who kept the observatory running on a shoestring. https://twitter.com/sondy/status/1336702986861473793
You cannot, however, maintain a 60-year-old structure suspended 450’/140 meters in the air in 80% humidity indefinitely on a policy of deferred maintenance. https://twitter.com/sondy/status/1336703661087420416
Link to the @apod in question. I can make some prime focus jokes, but it’s too early for malarkey when institutions like APOD are furthering the incorrect notion that Arecibo is “past its prime”. https://twitter.com/apod/status/1336543635647631361
And! There are TERABYTES of Arecibo data in the archives. Lifetimes of analysis and new science await the enterprising individual who will go through archival Arecibo data. Even from the great figurative observatory in the sky will Arecibo remain relevant. https://twitter.com/sondy/status/1336702986861473793
