Archives September 2025

Ever wondered what it’s like to set up the LaserSETI instruments? Read our blog to learn more about our new observatory in Puerto Rico:https://www.seti.org/news/laserseti-expands-network-to-puerto-rico-growing-toward-allsky-coverage This article details our installation process at Isla Magueyes, home of the Department of Marine Science at UPR Mayagüez. Join us on our journey to expand the LaserSETI network!

Above: part of the LaserSETI team with volunteers from Sociedad de Astronomía del Caribe.

The recent installation of the fourth LaserSETI observatory on Isla Magueyes in Puerto Rico was a fantastic experience and we’ve been happy to report that it went smoothly! That is, thanks to the help of Dr. Abel Mendez, the Deparment of Marine Sciences (University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez), and the Astronomical Society of the Caribbean (Sociedad de Astronomía del Caribe), and the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. Braving the heat is always part of the process, but the company and the incredible views kept us going. Check out this time lapse of the installation to see how it all went!

LaserSETI has officially landed in Puerto Rico! Watch our LaserSETI livestream from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez’s Department of Marine Sciences, where the new instruments are located! Outreach Manager Dr. Lauren Sgro was joined by Dr. Abel Méndez, Professor and Director of the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, to talk about the installation and Méndez’s team’s new study on the Wow! Signal. Dr. Méndez helped immensely to make this new observatory a reality, and he will continue to monitor the stations in Puerto Rico with his students. Enjoy the show!