National Radio Astronomy Observatory - Very Large Array
The last stop on our 2015 holiday excursion was to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory - also known as the Very Large Array (VLA). It is an amazing site that covers a large area in Southwestern New Mexico. While there I was fortunate enough to take a video of the dishes changing tracking alignments as they went about their constant research. If you have seen the original TV series "Cosmos," the movie "Contact," or many other shows or movies you will have seen the iconic radio telescope dishes spread across the New Mexico desert patiently canvasing the skies for astronomical secrets. The VLA consists of 28 identical radio telescope antenna dishes - each one about 82 feet in diameter - on movable bases that are carried along special "Y"-shaped series of railroad tracks expanding 23 miles in each direction. The dishes are moved into a series of four different configurations depending on the objects being studied. Radio telescopes can conduct their research rain or shine, day or night.
In the late 1920s, Bell Laboratories began planning a system of transatlantic wireless communications. They needed to know about sources of radio waves that might interfere with their plans, and put a young physicist, Karl Guthe Jansky, on to the task. In 1930, Jansky built his now famous “merry-go-round,” a bridge-like structure that held antenna wires set on a spinning base. A motor turned his merry-go-round throughout the day and night to listen for radio static interference, and indeed, he found plenty coming from distant thunderstorms …and the center of our Galaxy.
A radio antenna had shockingly discovered radio waves coming from space, turning it into a radio wave detecting telescope. And that’s how we came to call our field of science radio astronomy!
The VLA site and Visitor Center are open daily from 8:30am until sunset. The only exceptions may be the weather. The Very Large Array Radio Telescope facility is a two hour drive from Albuquerque, 50 miles west of Socorro, New Mexico. The Visitor Center features an award-winning film narrated by Jodie Foster, plus exhibits describing radio astronomy and the VLA telescope. A self-guided walking tour path features large, informative signs and takes you to the base of one of the giant dish antennas where you can appreciate the true size of the antenna dishes and watch it slowly track across the sky.
Admission is $6.00 for adults, $5.00 for Seniors (65+), ages 17 and under are free. Socorro & Catron County Resident Adult bringing out-of-town paying guest is free. On the first Saturday of each month, enjoy "First Saturday Guided Tours" at 11:00, 1:00, and 3:00. No reservations are required, simply show up at the VLA Visitor Center 15 minutes before the desired tour time.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118884/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC52QLi8x_eFMA2NUB9sTfLA
http://www.vla.nrao.edu
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