| The Very Large
Array (VLA) is a radio telescope located outside of Socorro, New Mexico. The array
consists of 27 antennas 82 feet in diameter, spread out along a Y-shaped baseline.
Each of the "dishes" can be moved via railroad tracks to different locations
along the baseline. In the D configuration, the antennas are crowded together within
a half mile from the center of the Y. In the A configuration, the antennas are stretched
out over 13 miles from the center. When the dishes are in this configuration, their data
can be combined to form a radio image equivalent to one produced by a single antenna 17
miles in diameter. |
 Sunrise at the VLA
(You can see this
picture in the calendar section of the January 2001 issue of Sky & Telescope!) |
