Occasionally, on an MHA tour there is a non-mining site too good to miss.  The Dinosaur Trackway in the Picket Wire National Grasslands and the geologic exposure of the K/T Boundary (Trinidad, 2014) and the Fairbanks Exploration Company Machine Shop (Fairbanks, 2017) are examples.  On the Kelly Mine Tour, the visit to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) with its Very Large Array (VLA) was just too good to miss.

This amazing scientific instrument is composed of 27 massive radio antennae (plus one spare) arranged in a “Y” shaped pattern.   Each arm of the configuration is 13 miles long.  It crosses highway US-60, the E-W highway through central New Mexico.  Scientists use the VLA to study a host of astronomical objects including our own Milky Way Galaxy, black holes, and other galaxies, just to name a few.

The Senator Pete V. Domenici Science Operations Center (DSOC) for the VLA is located on the campus of New Mexico Tech, a short distance from the Macy Center where the MHA conference was held.  The Observatory is owned by the National Science Foundation.  The first antenna became operational in 1975 and the facility was inaugurated in 1980.  A major technology update took place in 2011.  In 2023 plans were announced for a new generation of telescopes at the site.

For more information about the VLA, see the NRAO website, https://public.nrao.edu.

(Above) The Visitors Center was the first stop at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory where a short video explained what research goes on at the facility.

(Right) We followed the self-guided tour route on foot and by car to see the various parts of the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA).  Jansky was an engineer at Bell Laboratories.  In 1931, he discovered radio waves from extraterrestrial objects.  He is considered the father of the science of radio astronomy.

Our goal is to reach the large antenna near the center of the VLA (in the background of the photo).  On the way we stopped at the Ron Bracewell Radio Sundial.  It is named for Dr. Ronald N. Bracewell, a Stanford University Professor of Electrical Engineering and pioneer in radio astronomy.

An interpretive sign explains the history of the sundial and how it works.  World renown scientists and other dignitaries have autographed the piers at the back of the sundial.

It was 1:30 PM MDT according to the sundial (12:30 on the sundial plus 1:00 for daylight saving time).

MHAers reflected in the spherical mirror at the sundial.

The sign explains radio waves and what scentists learn from the signals gathered by the VLA.  CLICK ON THE SIGN IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Why is the VLA located in this remote part of New Mexico?  The sign tells why.

MHAers walked to an antenna near the center of the VLA.

The front view of the antenna has the north arm of the VLA in the background.

(Above) View of the east arm of the VLA.

(Left) The rear view of the antenna reveals its movable parts.

(Above) View of two antennae near the center point of the VLA from the balcony of the Control Building.

Left) The Antenna Assembly Building is used for maintaining and updating the massive antennae.

The two transporters are designed to be able to turn an antenna 90 degrees and place it at its prescribed location. This view looks down the railroad tracks that service the southwestern arm of the array.

The Plains of St. Augustin are dry and windy and yet, if one looks closely, they are home to a variety of wild flowers.

Several prong horn antelope were spotted along the VLA access road.  In spite of the warning signs, no rattlesnakes were encountered during the tour.