[meteorite-list] Congress Gets Bill to Save Arecibo Observatory

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2007 17:15:18 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <200710040015.RAA25746_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Oct07/Arecibo.bill.lg.html

Congress gets bill to save Arecibo Observatory

Oct. 3, 2007

By Lauren Gold
LG34 at cornell.edu
Cornell University

Congressmen Luis Fortu?o of Puerto Rico and Dana
Rohrabacher of California have introduced
legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives
to ensure continued operation of the Arecibo
Observatory in Puerto Rico. They want to
guarantee future federal funding for the
astronomical and radar-imaging facility.

"The bill is an appeal for the NSF [National
Science Foundation] and NASA to get together and
talk about how they might jointly work to
maintain the science program at Arecibo," said
Robert Brown, director of Cornell's National
Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, which manages
the facility for the NSF. Brown, also an adjunct
professor of astronomy at Cornell, said: "It
doesn't ask for something new; rather, it seeks
to maintain what goes on at the moment. The
observatory is really an icon to the people of
Puerto Rico -- it allows young people see ...
that Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans can be
successful scientifically on a world stage."

The observatory is facing severe federal budget
cuts by 2011 as the result of an NSF Senior
Review panel recommendation last year. The
observatory has reduced its operating budget from
$10 million to $8 million since last year, and
funding will remain level over the next three
years.

Fortu?o and others in Congress have also written
to the NSF seeking reconsideration of the
recommended budget cuts. Fortu?o noted that the
radio astronomy and radar capabilities of the
facility are critical to detection and tracking
of near-Earth objects (NEOs), including asteroids
that could pose a hazard of catastrophic
destruction and loss of life.

The legislation introduced by Fortu?o and
Rohrabacher would mandate the continued operation
of the facility and would support the mission of
NASA with respect to NEOs, as well as research
for scientific and educational purposes important
to Puerto Rico and the rest of the nation.

Fortu?o said: "Nobel Prize-winning research has
been conducted at Arecibo in the past and may be
again in the future, unless the observatory is
closed for short-sighted reasons. Maintaining
this facility is an investment in our nation's
future. The cost is small compared to the
benefits for America and mankind."

Said Rohrabacher: "Arecibo is a key resource in
understanding the characteristics of potentially
hazardous asteroids and comets so that they can
be dealt with effectively. There is no room for
error when it comes to eliminating a threat that
could kill millions."


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Received on Wed 03 Oct 2007 08:15:18 PM PDT