The following essay is being published in conjunction with the “(In)hospitable Space Conference” which explores the human dimensions of space exploration and is cosponsored between the English Department of Carnegie Mellon University, the Society for Social and Conceptual Issues in Astrobiology, and the European Astrobiology Institute.
The talk and planning about America’s 250th birthday has caused me to think about how we decide what places are of national and historic significance and how we protect and preserve them. How we preserve such places is relatively well defined in federal law. How we decide what places should qualify as nationally and historically significant, however, is a more complex and contentious issue.
As someone who has dedicated a significant part of my career in public policy, teaching, and writing promoting awareness and support for radio telescopes, I believe radio telescopes are of national and historic significance. In this essay, I outline my idea for the creation of a National Historical Park to protect and preserve three radio astronomy facilities: the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, the Green Bank Observatory (GBO) in West Virginia, and the Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico. As we celebrate America’s 250th, I encourage us to also celebrate radio telescopes and their work.
A Little Background on How We Protect and Preserve Places of National and Historic Significance
Federal efforts to protect and preserve places of national and historic significance are based largely on three laws. The first is the Antiquities Act, signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. This Act authorized the U.S. President, “to declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States….”
In 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law the Historic Sites Act, which declared, “…it is a national policy to preserve for public use historic sites, buildings and objects of national significance for the inspiration and benefit of the people of the United States.”
In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed the National Historic Preservation Act, which found that, “…the preservation of this irreplaceable heritage is in the public interest so that its vital legacy of cultural, educational, aesthetic, inspirational, economic, and energy benefits will be maintained and enriched for future generations of Americans.”
Together, these three laws as amended have established a hierarchy of designations and protections, primarily under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service (NPS) within the U.S. Department of the Interior, to support historic preservation efforts.
The first level of this hierarchy is being listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). According to the NPS, there are over 100,000 locations on the NRHP. The second level is designation as a National Historic Landmark (NHL). There are over 2,600 locations nationwide with this designation, including Pittsburgh’s Point State Park. The third level, the most labor-intensive but with the most protections and resources for preservation, is status as a National Historic Site (NHS) or a National Historic Park (NHP). This status generally requires either Congressional action or a Presidential proclamation.
There are 75 locations with the NHS designation and 64 locations with the NHP designation. An example of an NHS in the Pittsburgh area is Friendship Hill, home of Albert Gallatin who served as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1801 to 1814. An example of an NHP in Pennsylvania is Independence NHP in Philadelphia, which includes Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. NHSs and NHPs are distinct from National Parks, which are known for their natural features. Yellowstone and Yosemite are examples.
Do Radio Telescopes Have National and Historic Significance?
Grote Reber, an engineer from Illinois, built the first astronomical radio telescope in 1937. Since then, radio telescopes have been sensitive scientific instruments enabling research in astronomy and physics. From studying the origins of the universe to verifying Einstein’s theory of relativity, work using radio telescopes have led to countless scientific discoveries, publications, and prizes. They track everything from spacecraft (including the recent Orion lunar fly-by, contributing to the mission’s safety and navigation) to space junk and asteroids with incredible precision, enhancing the safety of human space exploration and reducing the risk of objects impacting Earth.
They are also marvels of engineering and technology. Reber’s radio telescope was a “9-meter wide, 2-metric-ton antenna on an adjustable stand.” From this humble beginning, the Arecibo Observatory’s radio telescope in Puerto Rico became the world’s largest single-aperture telescope at 1,000 feet (305 meters) in diameter when it began operating in 1963, just 16 years after Reber’s backyard build. The breathtaking pace of radio telescope innovation in the mid-20th century is a great story in its own right. (Unfortunately, the Arecibo radio telescope collapsed in 2020. The site’s 50+ year impact on radio astronomy and uncertainty about the site’s future increase the urgency for preservation of what remains.)
The GBO’s crown jewel, the Robert C. Byrd Telescope, stands 485 feet (148 meters) tall, has a diameter of 328 feet (100 meters), and weighs 16 million pounds. It is the world’s largest fully steerable dish telescope. The Very Large Array (VLA), located in central New Mexico, consists of 27 different telescopes that, at their widest separation, span a distance of 22 miles (36 kilometers).
These magnificent machines may also be humanity’s best hope for detecting other intelligent life in the universe which, if it happens, will be one of the most transformational moments in human history. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) using radio telescopes began with Project Ozma at Green Bank in 1960. One of humanity’s most famous transmissions of an intentional signal to the universe occurred at Arecibo in 1974. The VLA, which figures prominently in Carl Sagan’s novel Contact and the movie adaptation, launched a new partnership with the SETI Institute in 2020.
Speaking of Contact, Carl Sagan, an astronomer and leading popularizer and explainer of science, wrote that novel in 1985. Sagan is part of a small but distinguished subgenre of science fiction that features radio telescopes as plot devices, literally and figuratively. Fred Hoyle, an eminent astrophysicist, and John Elliot, a BBC television producer, were among the first with their 1961 novel, A for Andromeda. Chloe Zerwick and Harrison Brown co-authored A Cassiopeia Affair in 1968. James Gunn used Arecibo for the setting of his novel, The Listeners, in 1972. Cixin Liu wrote The Three-Body Problem, the first book in the Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy, in 2006. The range of metaphors and similes these authors use to capture the beauty and purpose of radio telescopes—from sculpture to spiderweb, from a dish catching stardust to a stethoscope, from a mechanical flower to an open hand—demonstrate the symbolic power of radio telescopes.
From science to science fiction, I think the answer is yes, radio telescopes do have national and historic significance. But why a Radio Astronomy National Historic Park? Looking at a precedent may help.
The Precedent
The Manhattan Project was a codename for the U.S. Government’s top-secret research effort to develop nuclear weapons for use in World War II. Although named for the initial project headquarters in Upper Manhattan, the project included multiple sites across the country, with Hanford, Washington; Los Alamos, New Mexico; and Oak Ridge, Tennessee, generally regarded as the primary locations.
In terms of size, scope, and consequences, the Manhattan Project needs to be remembered. After about a decade of study and planning, a November 2015 Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretary of Interior and Secretary of Energy established the Manhattan Project National Historic Park. Operated jointly by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Park Service, the park consists of three sites: Hanford, Los Alamos, and Oak Ridge. This park represents a new model and differs from most other NHPs in at least two ways: (1) the focus on science, technology, and research and (2) the coordination among three disparately located sites.
The Manhattan National NHP is a useful template for the establishment of a similar park focused on radio astronomy. A Radio Astronomy NHP would also focus on science and technology and would also include three sites: Arecibo, GBO, and the VLA.
Arecibo, GBO, and the VLA have been to radio astronomy what Hanford, Los Alamos, and Oak Ridge were to atomic weapons. And while radio astronomy has not had as much impact on American society and culture as atomic energy, that would change in a nanosecond if the GBO or VLA were to receive a signal indicating extraterrestrial intelligence. Such a signal would transform the human condition forever.
Notwithstanding the possibility or even the desirability of detecting extraterrestrial intelligence, radio telescopes are responsible for discoveries that have helped to shape our understanding of everything from space travel to the nature of time. They provide exposure to the rigorous process of conducting research, the construction and maintenance operations that make such research possible, and the application of that research to solve fundamental questions about the universe. And radio telescopes are peaceful giants, showcasing the power of science and technology to create and improve the human condition, a story at least as important to tell as the power of science and technology to destroy. The educational and outreach opportunities that a Radio Astronomy NHP would hold for visitors of all ages are tremendous.
We Would Not Be Starting at Square One
The good news is radio telescopes are already included at the lower levels of the historic preservation hierarchy described earlier. The Reber radio telescope at the GBO was listed on the National Register in 1972 and was upgraded to a National Historic Landmark in 1989. In the Department of Interior’s review of the Reber telescope application in the early 1970s, one encouraging comment was: “Our staff found this a fascinating subject but one with which we are very [underline in original] unfamiliar.”
The Arecibo Observatory, as part of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, was listed on the National Register in 2008. The site remains on the list despite the main telescope’s collapse. The Reber telescope has the NHL designation, but the rest of GBO, including other historic and scientifically important radio telescopes, is not included. The VLA is not on the National Register. Thus, there is still a lot of work to do to protect and preserve these locations.
Ad Astra Per Aspera
I acknowledge my idea of a Radio Astronomy National Historic Park has a difficult path to the stars. The amount of scholarly work to prepare a credible application is considerable. The political work to build support among the Congressional delegations from two states and a territory is a heavy lift. Addressing concerns that NHP status would interfere with the use or upgrade of these instruments is important. Navigating uncertainty about budget and personnel levels at the National Park Service is challenging, especially when the NPS is already stretched thin and adding a new NHP site would further divide a shrinking pie.
Balanced against these things, however, I think about how the higher profile that comes from being an NHP could increase the number of people who visit Arecibo, GBO, and the VLA. I think about how NPS expertise and experience could enhance the sites and the stories they tell. I think about children who visit these places and could be inspired to become radio astronomers, or astrophysicists, or engineers, or science educators, or science fiction authors. And when I think about those things, the sky is the limit.
