While embracing their past they also appreciate the active role they are playing in the future. Puerto Rico is home to the largest single dish radio telescope in the world. Arecibo Observatory is used for gathering data for one of the most wide spread experiments in the search for extra terrestrial intelligence (SETI).

For years SETI has had a program to harness unutilized computer time to do the extensive calculations needed to sort thru the huge amounts of data from the giant dish at Arecibo. However because of the increased power of the new generation of computers and the vast number of participants in the program the computing has caught up with the data.

Through a cooperative effort with Cornell university and the Universidad de Puerto Rico funded by a grant from the Carl Sagan foundation the Puerto Rican community has strived to be leaders of discovery once again.

While most leading Radio telescopes around the world view the use of precious observing time for the search for extra terrestrials as a low priority, the local populace has embraced this bold new concept called distributed observing*.

On rooftops through out the towns and country side you will see these special super sensitive receivers strategically placed to gather more data to feed the ready and waiting computers of the distributed computing project.  It is most likely that through their tireless efforts we will soon broaden our knowledge of our  intelligent galactic neighbors.

see footnote *