Radio Telescope Behind the Fence
The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) is a radio astronomy observatory located about 50 miles (64 km) west of Socorro, New Mexico. The VLA consists of twenty-seven 25-meter (82 feet) diameter radio telescopes deployed in a Y-shaped array, together with all the equipment needed to process the collected data and function as an interferometer. Each of the radio telescopes is mounted along double parallel railroad tracks, which allows changing the configuration of the system. Placing the radio telescopes closer together increases surface brightness sensitivity. Spreading them out increases angular resolution. The system was built from 1973 to 1980 and is being modernized, starting in 2011.
Radio Telescope Behind the Fence
The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) is a radio astronomy observatory located about 50 miles (64 km) west of Socorro, New Mexico. The VLA consists of twenty-seven 25-meter (82 feet) diameter radio telescopes deployed in a Y-shaped array, together with all the equipment needed to process the collected data and function as an interferometer. Each of the radio telescopes is mounted along double parallel railroad tracks, which allows changing the configuration of the system. Placing the radio telescopes closer together increases surface brightness sensitivity. Spreading them out increases angular resolution. The system was built from 1973 to 1980 and is being modernized, starting in 2011.