The Arecibo Observatory is a large radio telescope located in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. It is one of the largest and most powerful radio telescopes in the world, and has been used for a wide range of astronomical research since its completion in 1963. The observatory has been instrumental in the discovery of pulsars, mapping the surfaces of planets and asteroids, studying the ionosphere, and detecting potentially hazardous asteroids. It is also a key site for the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) program. The Arecibo Observatory was previously managed by the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC) and is currently operated by the University of Central Florida.