Ansel's Spring Walkabout

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VLA

Made famous by the movie Contact, the radio telescope is where scientists explore the heavens by collecting the radio waves generated by objects deep in space.

Visitor center exhibits show some of the data collected by the radio telescope, an array of 27 large dish antennas, each the size of baseball diamond.

The Whisper Gallery, below, which demonstrates how the antennas work using sound instead of radio waves

Panorama by Ansel Boyce Photography ©2005

The Very Large Array (VLA), one of the world's premier astronomical radio observatories, consists of 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped configuration on the Plains of San Agustin 80 km (50 miles) miles west of Socorro, New Mexico. Each antenna is 25 meters (82 feet) in diameter. The data from the antennas is combined electronically to give the resolution of an antenna 36km (22 miles) across, with the sensitivity of a dish 130 meters (426.5 feet) in diameter.

Astronomers need such a large device to produce radio photographs of celestial objects that have the same detail and resolution as photographs made with the biggest optical telescopes.

Radio astronomy is a young science. In 1933 faint radio noise which interfered with transatlantic communications was first identified as cosmic radio waves from our Milky Way. The science grew up after World War 11 with new radio and radar technology, and it matured in the 1960's and 70's as astronomers detected radio waves from many unusual objects such as pulsars and quasars. In order to study these and other fascinating aspects of the universe, larger and more sensitive telescopes were needed. These developments led to the construction of the VLA

Although open to the public, there are no guided tours. All visitors are encouraged to take a self-guided tour that encompasses all of the observatory except the array arms and the inside of the facilities

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) was founded in Green Bank, West Virginia in 1956 to provide scientists with large radio telescopes necessary for the continued advancement of radio astronomy. Until that time, most observatories were operated by universities; NRAO was the first to be funded directly by the National Science Foundation through congressional appropriations