Photo – Page 76 – National Radio Astronomy Observatory

Looking Down on the VLA Barn

The Sun sets over the Antenna Assembly Building at the Very Large Array in central New Mexico. Inside the so-called “Barn,” a 25-meter dish antenna undergoes routine maintenance while a recently serviced antenna is tested on the Master Pad to the left. An orange-red Antenna Transporter waits on its tracks. The VLA has 28 antennas, but only 27 are needed for the array, giving it a spare for these maintenance shifts.

Plains of San Agustin before VLA tracks were installed

Aerial Shot of VLA Before Tracks

Before the Very Large Array’s 40 miles of double-track railway were installed, the Plains of San Agustin in central New Mexico looked like this.

VLA Antenna on Transporter

A 200-ton antenna is carefully hauled back out into the Very Large Array on board an Antenna Transporter. The Transporter rides the rails that form a large Y-shape across the Plains of San Agustin in central New Mexico.

The VLA at Sunset

The silhouettes of the Y-shaped Very Large Array working hard against a gorgeous sunset in central New Mexico.

VLA Lone Antenna Near Sunset

Clouds thicken in the east as the Sun sets over the Very Large Array in central New Mexico.

VLA from the Air

An aerial shot looking down toward the center of the Very Large Array in New Mexico.

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