Puerto Rico’s famous Arecibo Observatory will not be replaced after it crashed 2 years ago. Dramatic photos and videos show pieces of the telescope smashed by the jungle.

Side-by-side images of the Arecibo Observatory before and after the collapse show the dramatic damage that ended an era in space exploration. — The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, left, before the 2020 meltdown and after the meltdown, right, in October 2022.Arecibo Observatory/Paola Rosa-Aquino

Before and after images Arecibo Observatory shows dramatically collapse ended an era in space exploration.
Astronomers mourned the loss of their observatory natural disasters.
For nearly 60 years, the Arecibo Observatory has made important contributions to astronomy.

Arecibo Observatory, Nestled in the lush mountains of Puerto Rico, the legendary radio telescope has served as an important gaze into space for nearly six decades.

From tracking asteroids to discovering the first one Planets outside our solar systemArecibo made substantial contributions to our knowledge of space.

The telescope’s observing equipment was suspended from a platform suspended over a 1,000-foot radio beam until December 1, 2020. After a series of disasters, from earthquakes to hurricanes the cables supporting that platform came outcausing the telescope to collapse onto the wide dish at the bottom.

How is the telescope faring two years after its collapse.

The telescope was built in a natural hole in northwestern Puerto Rico.

High altitude photo of the Arecibo Observatory — A high-altitude view of Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory, taken in the 1980s.Arecibo Observatory

Members of Arecibo’s neighboring communities helped build the observatory.

Workers connecting and raising the cables supporting the platform in September 1962.Arecibo Observatory

The observatory was first opened in November 1963. It was originally made of metal mesh, which means you can see the hole below.

An aerial view of the William E. Gordon telescope in its first form. — Aerial view of Arecibo’s William E. Gordon Telescope before the dish plates were replaced in 1973.Cornell University / Arecibo Observatory

Arecibo was a workhorse for astronomers.

Astronomers Larry Webster and Jill Tarter look at computer screens at the observatory on October 10, 1992. They are working on the beginning of the search for signs of extraterrestrial life. — Astronomers Larry Webster and Jill Tarter look at computer screens at the observatory on October 10, 1992. They start looking for signs of extraterrestrial life.Roger Ressmeyer/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images

In 1974, he sent the first radio message intended for extraterrestrials. The encrypted message contains detailed chemical formulas for the components of DNA, as well as simple drawings of the human figure and Arecibo.