The National Science Foundation has been asked by
the federal government to consider divesting itself of the Green Bank
Observatory in West Virginia,
the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope. The facility has been in
operation for over a half century, with a new radio telescope built there in
2001.
According to Newsline, the foundation - which
provides the observatory's funding - is considering several options for its
future, ranging from continuing operations as they currently are to shutting
down and demolishing the facility.
Two public meetings were planned for
November to seek input from the public and the scientific community. As of this writing, online input is still being accepted. For details, see <http://greenbankobservatory.org/eis-statement/>.