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  • The Baseline

Image Gallery : The Baseline

In radio astronomy ‘baseline’ refers to the distance between antennas in an array. NRAO’s telescopes are made up of a series of individual antennas connected by cables and identical hardware, spaced out and arranged in different patterns on the dry, desert landscape. The entire array of antennas is referred to as a single telescope, and the distance between a pair of antennas in an array is called a baseline.

This series is creating a baseline of information connecting the fundamentals of radio astronomy to curious minds everywhere. Inspired by radio telescopes, the more episodes of “The Baseline” the better the public will have an understanding and appreciation of radio astronomy and the stories only it can tell.

Search in The Baseline:
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All Astrochemistry Black Holes Brown Dwarfs Cosmology Exoplanets Fast Radio Burst Galaxies People and Events Protoplanetary Disks Radio Telescopes and Technology Stars The Solar System
Browse a Collection:
2019 ALMA Top 10 2021 Science Highlights AAS June 2023 ALMA Astrophotography Project AR Models CDL Co-op Program Stories Desktop/Video Chat Backgrounds Image of the Week Jansky Lectures ngVLA Artist Impressions ngVLA Science Goals PHANGS-ALMA Catalog 2021 The Baseline VERTICO VLA Astrophotography Project VLASS Women in Astronomy IV 2017

The Baseline #17: Gravitational Lensing: Focusing On The Cosmos
The Baseline #17: Gravitational Lensing: Focusing On The Cosmosmore_horiz
Baseline #16 – Fast Radio Bursts: Bursting with Mysteries
Baseline #16 – Fast Radio Bursts: Bursting with Mysteriesmore_horiz
Baseline 15 – Space Lasers! How Astronomers use Astrophysical Masers
Baseline 15 – Space Lasers! How Astronomers use Astrophysical Masersmore_horiz
Baseline 14: Central Development Laboratory: The Magic Behind the Wonder
Baseline 14: Central Development Laboratory: The Magic Behind the Wondermore_horiz
Baseline #13 – Sagittarius A*: Monster in the Milky Way
Baseline #13 – Sagittarius A*: Monster in the Milky Waymore_horiz
Baseline #12 – Planetary Radar: Shining Light On Our Nearest Neighbors
Baseline #12 – Planetary Radar: Shining Light On Our Nearest Neighborsmore_horiz
Baseline #11 – Finding Planets That Have No Star
Baseline #11 – Finding Planets That Have No Starmore_horiz
The Baseline #10 – How To Kick A Pulsar Out Of The Galaxy
The Baseline #10 – How To Kick A Pulsar Out Of The Galaxymore_horiz
The Baseline 9: How Do Exoplanets Form? Mind The Gaps!
The Baseline 9: How Do Exoplanets Form? Mind The Gaps!more_horiz
The Baseline #8: Why Hydrogen Tells Us the Story of the Universe
The Baseline #8: Why Hydrogen Tells Us the Story of the Universemore_horiz
The Baseline 7: Mapping The Radio Sky
The Baseline 7: Mapping The Radio Skymore_horiz
The Baseline 6: Rotating Disks In The Early Universe
The Baseline 6: Rotating Disks In The Early Universemore_horiz
NRAO’s Baseline Episode 5: The Very Large Array at 40
NRAO’s Baseline Episode 5: The Very Large Array at 40more_horiz
NRAO’s Baseline Episode 4: Measuring the Expanding Universe
NRAO’s Baseline Episode 4: Measuring the Expanding Universemore_horiz
NRAO’s Baseline Episode 3: Viewing Active Galaxies
NRAO’s Baseline Episode 3: Viewing Active Galaxiesmore_horiz
NRAO’s Baseline Episode 2: A Black Hole Eats A Star
NRAO’s Baseline Episode 2: A Black Hole Eats A Starmore_horiz
NRAO’s Baseline Episode 1: Trio of Infant Planets Discovered around Newborn Star
NRAO’s Baseline Episode 1: Trio of Infant Planets Discovered around Newborn Starmore_horiz
Showing images 1 - 17 of 17

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Founded in 1956, the NRAO provides state-of-the-art radio telescope facilities for use by the international scientific community. NRAO telescopes are open to all astronomers regardless of institutional or national affiliation. Observing time on NRAO telescopes is available on a competitive basis to qualified scientists after evaluation of research proposals on the basis of scientific merit, the capability of the instruments to do the work, and the availability of the telescope during the requested time. NRAO also provides both formal and informal programs in education and public outreach for teachers, students, the general public, and the media.
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