So what is the Very Large Array, you ask? From Wikipedia:
The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array is a centimeter-wavelength radio astronomy observatory located in central New Mexico on the Plains of San Agustin, between the towns of Magdalena and Datil, 50 miles west of Socorro. The VLA comprises twenty-eight 25-meter radio telescopes (27 of which are operational while one is always rotating through maintenance) deployed in a Y-shaped array and all the equipment, instrumentation, and computing power to function as an interferometer. Each of the massive telescopes is mounted on double parallel railroad tracks, so the radius and density of the array can be transformed to adjust the balance between its angular resolution and its surface brightness sensitivity.[2] Astronomers using the VLA have made key observations of black holes and protoplanetary disks around young stars, discovered magnetic filaments and traced complex gas motions at the Milky Way’s center, probed the Universe’s cosmological parameters, and provided new knowledge about the physical mechanisms that produce radio emission.
The VLA stands at an elevation of 6,970 feet above sea level. It is a component of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). The NRAO is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.
I did not know that. Amazing what man can figure out and then accomplish.
Smarter people than me, that’s for sure! 😉
I spent the night in Socorro while visiting Bosque del Apache but didn’t know the array nearby. I knew there was one in NM just not where. I would have liked to see it.
While it is listed as being ” near Socorro” it is still a bit of a haul. We also passed by signs directing us to “Spaceport America” which is the base for the Virgin Galactic space program. It was not open to the public and was a long way from our route. I’d love to see it – perhaps next time.
Did you get to Bosque? A morning launch of the sand hill cranes is worth the visit.
I’m not sure the birds are there this time of year. But no, we didn’t stop. We’ve seen snow geese and tundra swans in several places along the east coast, but I would like to go to Bosque at some point. The list is long…. 😉