Arecibo Observatory History
The National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, also called the Arecibo Observatory, was constructed by Cornell University from 1960 to 1963 under the leadership of Prof. William E. Gordon (Ph.D. ’53). Named for the municipality in which it is located in highland Puerto Rico, Arecibo was the world’s largest single-unit radio telescope and has been the site of many astronomical discoveries. The University of Florida now maintains the station and it has been decommissioned. Carl Sagan's movie Contact, was filmed there (as were James Bond's GoldenEye, Survivor, and the “Little Green Men” episode of the X-Files). See more information.
Libguide at the University of Puerto Rico on Arecibo contains videos, pictures, books, articles, and more.
Newspaper articles:
- Arecibo Observatory, a Great Eye on the Cosmos, Is Going Dark, New York Times, Nov 11, 2020
- The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico Collapses, New York Times, Dec 1, 2020
- China's Aperture Spherical Telescope, or FAST, in Guizhou Province in China is world's largest telescope at 500 meters aperture. New York Times,
Oral and Written Histories at Cornell
- Selections Concerning the History of Arecibo Observatory - compiled by Robert Cooke, selections from the Cornell Alumni News for the years 1963 through 2007
- A Brief History of the Arecibo Observatory by Don Campbell
- A Conversation by Three Arecibo Observatory Pioneers: William E. Gordon, Dale R. Corson and William McGuire
- Images from the Cornell Library Digital Collection
- Arecibo Inosopheric Observatory Records and Electrical Engineering Reports, 1950-1960, Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University
- Arecibo Ionospheric Observatory Records, 1958-2010, Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University
- Larry Gordon and Nancy Gordon Ward Reminisce about their relationship with the Arecibo Observatory
- Life in Arecibo for Cornell University Families (June 1963 to May 1965)
- Cornell Engineering Quarterly: Probing Out Atmospheres and Beyond - by Gordon, William E.; Farley, Donald T.; Kelley, Michael C.; Drake, Frank D, October 1978
Pictures and Movies
Arecibo pictures, Cornell University Library Digital Collections
Photo of Dale Corson at Arecibo Observatory from Cornell University Rare and Manuscript Collections