Budget cuts.I realize that this verges on politics, but it strikes me as kind of important that the telescope is adequately funded.

__________________
We want our children to go to the planets. Burt Rutan 6/21/04
Tuckers! Science! Automotive Oddities! Boycott Trek XI! Building my hot rod with the help of the intarwebs Those who would delay scientific progress for a little temporary prosperity shall have neither.

On schedule?

See topic U.S. to cease funding for Arecibo radio telescope. . . (September 2007)

__________________
0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 ...

I missed this when I posted a link to a form you can send to your reps. See "Save Arecibo!"

That's topic Save Arecibo!

__________________
0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 ...

Is this a program that should be axed? Have the new large array radio telescopes made Arecibo more or less an expensive dinosaur? Should the SETI listening be continued ad finum, or should it be rescaled to smaller, more economic listening posts? Is it time for a different approach?

__________________
jwj

It's ok not to know. We should try harder to find out.

The new-ish multi-horn receiver, ALFA, on Arecibo gives it a sensitivity roughly 10% of the proposed Square Kilometre Array in some observations and as such makes it still the most sensitive receiver on the planet. We won't have that capability duplicated until one of the SKA predecessor arrays is built, which is still 5 years away at least at their current rate.

source: Michael Kramer University of Manchester / Jodrell Bank Observatory -- buried in one of the talks at www.ns2007.org/