Arecibo Observatory

By Rebecca Hernandez

Even James Bond's visited Arecibo - how can you resist? Click to enlarge.

Another great combination of tropical holiday destination and high geek factor resides on the island of Puerto Rico. Here you’ll find the Arecibo Observatory, home of the largest radio telescope in the world and loads of scientists studying the solar system as well as radio signals received from far away galaxies, pulsars, and quasars.

Arecibo has also hosted scientists from SETI group, the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, and was the site for much of the work done on Project Phoenix, a now-defunct scan of 800 nearby stars for radio signals indicative of extra-terrestrial intelligence. (Remember the movie ‘Contact’, based on the novel by Carl Sagan? That was filmed here.)

The real star (pardon the pun) of the observatory is the radio telescope, which is 305 metres in diameter, and operates 24 hours a day. About two hundred visiting scientists come to Arecibo each year to perform research with the telescope.

The observatory has a small science museum and you can view the telescope dish from a nearby platform. Set in a sinkhole in the middle of the jungle, the giant dish makes for quite a sight. Finish your day off with some traditional Puerto Rican food at the cafeteria, or head back to the lively city of San Juan for a real touch of Latin culture.

Time required: a day.

Money: £

More information: Arecibo Observatory

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