Arecibo Observatory - 2

The 38,778 perforated aluminum panels (below) that make up the dish are individually adjusted to produce a curvature with a with a 2mm precision.

Special kind of shoes (below) must be worn by all personnel walking inside the dish. These shoes protect the panels by evenly distributing person's weight.

39 cables support the 1,000 ton platform with the receiver suspended in the air. Each cable weighs 10 tons and the total length of all cables is over 4 miles (6.7 km). The small cable sample below weighs 66 pounds (30 kg).

The towers are 110 m (365 ft) high. Special concrete blocks at the foundation of each tower (below) are used to tighten the cables.

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