Photo – Page 13 – National Radio Astronomy Observatory

Sunny Day at the VLA

A VLA antenna and Transporter soaking up some sun on a clear day on the Plains of San Agustin, New Mexico.

Two North American 12-meters sit under the stars at the ALMA Operations Support Facility (OSF). Towards the left of the image in the distance is the Holography Tower. The antennas are able to receive a signal from this tower and use it to make a map of their surfaces. The individual panels that make up their surface can then be adjusted so that the surface is as close to being perfect parabola as possible.

The Milky Way and the VLA

The Milky Way Galaxy seen over the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array west of Socorro, New Mexico.

Passing by the Flowers

A VLA antenna being transported alongside a patch of blooming wildflowers on the Plains of San Agustin.

ALMA’s Japanese 7-meter Antennas

These antennas are the 7-meter antennas built by our Japanese partners. All together, there are 12 of these smaller antennas that are all located close to the center of the overall array. They work in conjunction with four other 12-meter antennas to form the Atacama Compact Array (ACA). Because of the extremely close spacing, the ACA is able to very accurately simulate a single antenna and image very faint objects visible in the millimeter/submillimeter part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

VLA Antennas and The Barn

The Antenna Assembly Building, more commonly referred to as The Barn, houses any antenna that needs to undergo maintenance. The antenna to the left of the image is seated on the Master Pad, a testing station that verifies the antenna is working properly.

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