The great cloud was discovered last spring by astronomers using the 1,000-foot radiotelescope at the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center at Arecibo, P.R.

From 1978 until 1981 she worked at the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center when she left to become the assistant director for the Green Bank Telescope.

At present, SETI@home procures its data from the Arecibo Observatory facility operated by the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center and administered by Cornell University.

This appointment was made by Dr. Robert Brown, director of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC).

This observatory is also called the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, although "NAIC" refers to both the observatory and the staff that operates it.

At successive inferior conjunctions, Venus was observed both by Goldstone and the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center in Arecibo.

"Interference is really a serious problem, especially at relatively low frequencies," Dr. Paul F. Goldsmith, director of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, said via e-mail.

The US National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center also carries out studies of the high atmosphere.

The Observatory is part of Cornell University's National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center; it operates 24 hours a day.

Solar spectrum, National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, Cornell University (NAIC)