The Very Large Array

I made a detour to find the Very Large Array, on the Plains of San Augustin, 50 miles west of Socorro, New Mexico (Altitude: 7,000 feet).

The Very Large Array is a project of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (www.NRAO.edu). The VLA consists of 27 25-meter diameter dish antennas that together make a single radio telescope system, taking detailed pictures of extremely faint objects in the sky. The first Saturday of each month, scientists give guided tours of the facility, with different themes each month. Although the Very Large Array has been featured in numerous films and videos (for example, Contact), visitors are reminded that the VLA is a scientific operation whose intent is not to contact "little green men." Self-guided walking tours of the VLA are available every day from 8:30 a.m. until sunset. Digital cameras are permitted, but all other personal devices must be turned OFF as the radio waves they generate interfere with VLA operations.

In addition to the VLA, NRAO operates other radio telescopes:

• Green Bank Telescope, West Virginia
• Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), spread across the United States
• Atacama Large Millineter Array (ALMA), Chile