The Very Large Array and Roswell

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The Very Large Array and Roswell NM

The Very Large Array, one of the world's premier astronomical radio observatories, consists of 27 large radio antennas in a Y-shaped configuration on the Plains of San Agustin, 
fifty miles west of Socorro New Mexico. 
( that's about 25 miles past the middle of nowhere)

 Aerial shot of the entire VLA site

 The antennas are distributed along the three arms of railroad track, shaped in a Y configuration, (each of which measures 13 miles from the center of the Y (configuration A).
In the photo above the dishes are in configuration D which places them stretching only .4 miles 
from the center of the Y. 

Using the rail tracks that follow each of these arms—and that, at one point, intersect with U.S. Route 60 at a level crossing—and a specially designed lifting locomotive, the antennas can be physically relocated to a number of prepared positions



Each of the antennas is 25 meters (82 feet) in diameter. The data from the antennas is combined electronically to give the resolution of an antenna 36 km (22 miles) across, with the equivalent sensitivity of a dish 130 meters (422 feet) in diameter.
(sorry for all the Geek Speak)



With the people on the steps and the pickup truck in the above photo you get a
sense of the size of these huge radio antennas.  


Although a little bit out of the way, this was a great stop and we learned a lot here.
Rather than geek up the post too much I thought it would be better to provide a link
for anyone who wants more detailed info about The VLA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_Large_Array

After spending the day waiting for ET to phone home at the VLA we were heading to Texas to visit friends so we stopped for gas and to spend the night in Roswell New Mexico.



The locals were very friendly




There is a museum and research library here devoted to UFOs.



Did you know that aliens like Dunkin Donuts?
(I did not!!)


Although we did not see any strange lights in the sky at night, we only spent one night here.

Onward to Texas 











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