Very Large Array

Author(s): Selden Ball

Release date:

The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) (currently EVLA) 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 (80 km) west of Socorro. The VLA comprises twenty-eight 25-meter radio telescopes (twenty-seven 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. The VLA stands at an elevation of 6,970 feet (2,120 m) above sea level. It is a component of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The NRAO is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

The Expanded VLA as seen in Celestia.

A close up image of the radio dishes used by the EVLA (Credit: Hajor on Wikipedia).

One of the EVLA's 28 radio dishes undergoing maintenance in "The Barn" (Credit: Bridgetann4of6 on Wikipedia).

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