Walkabout With Wheels Blog: An Afternoon Tour of The Very Large Array in Central New Mexico

Eric at The Very Large Array

Visitors Center.

We are directed to this low slung
nondescript building.

Bob starts the tour with an

overview of The Very

Large Array & the purpose

of the Radio Telescopes
(Antenna Dishes).

These giants rely on staff
at The Very Large Array
to keep them running.

Staff use this work area to repair

& upgrade electrical parts of

the Telescopes.

Astronomers from all over

the world request time on

The Very Large Array

for research projects.

The Very Large Array is funded by the National Science Foundation. Researchers using Telescope Time are not charged. Currently, there are more requests for Telescope Time than hours it is online.

We go upstairs to the
Control Room.

Sylvia is an Array Operator.

She starts assigned jobs on
time & watches numerous
computer screens.

Sylvia tracks the progress of each job; checks on the condition of the antennas gathering data for the job; ends each job on time; and sets up the following job.

Sylvia is one of six Array Operators. They work 363 days a year; getting Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays off.

Eric & I join the tour group outside, on a balcony.

This photo shows one arm of the

three armed Array.

The Array was featured in Carl Sagan's book, Contact and the movie, Contact, starring Jodie Foster.

This aerial photo of The Very Large Array is from the

National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

There are four configurations of the Array. The most distant configuration covers 22 miles.

Each Antenna Dish is 82 feet at the widest point and weighs 230 tons. I couldn't find information on the height of one. My guess is at least 60 feet tall.

The combined power of these 27 Radio Telescopes is powerful enough to study space near our Solar System in the Milky Way Galaxy and explore space millions of Light Years away.