Very Large Array

Very Large Array Set The Very Large Array is located about 120 miles south of Albuquerque. Drive south on I-25 and drive west on US 60. Drive through Socorro and Magdalena to get to the VLA.

These huge satellite-dishes don't offer the latest in the football or soccer. In fact, they don't communicate to satellites in space. The dishes are used as a radio telescope. One may be confused that a telescope requires optics and mirrors. In this case, stars emit radio waves and the dishes collect those waves from the sky and convert them into images.

There are two similar radio telescopes in Chile and South Africa. The ALMA project, located in Chile, is nearly complete and will have far superior capabilities based on the original VLA design.

Currently the National Science Foundation funds the operation of these radio telescopes. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology manages the operations for the VLA and ALMA telescopes. For more information, visit the National Radio Astronomy Observatory website.