These pictures were taken while working in Puerto Rico in the summer of 2004. Arecibo is the largest satellite dish antenna in the world! I was told that there is another larger antenna being built somewhere else in the world but this is absolutely the biggest one I have ever seen. If you have seen the movie "Contact" with Jody Foster then you probably remember seeing this satellite dish at the beginning of the movie. It is built into the mountain side of Arecibo Puerto Rico. If you look at one of the pictures very closely you can see a person standing inside the dish and really grasp how large it is. My only complaint was the fact that the observation area was so close to the dish that you are really too close to it to grasp the size. It was still an amazing thing to see up close. The feed is actually mounted on cables that move it (rather than the dish) to focus it on whatever they are trying to receive. This antenna is actually the most accurate meteorite and asteroid detection system known to man. I truly enjoyed the sites I managed to see while in Puerto Rico. This was just one of them. Hope you enjoy the pictures. |