VLA

What can you say about a place called the Very Large Array.
Notice the Very Large Hawk in this picture?
Maybe Incredible Enormous Array IEA Perhaps Absurdly Abundant Astronomical Antennas AAAA Exceedingly Eclectic Extraterrestrial Eavesdropping Earlike Edifices EEEEEE

Either way it was a pretty nifty pile of hardware. While myself I have a soft spot for optical astronomy (in as much as I have eyes and not antennae). The VLA was mighty impressive. You could see it for miles. I was immediately overwhelmed by the scale. If Daniel Burnham were an astronomer he would have loved this place.

Looking W to SW		Looking E to SE


Looking North
After a quick stop at the visitor center a nice leisurely walk on the self guided tour really brings home the point. This is a VERY Large Array of radio telescopes. It also brought home the point that I should be very thankful to live in such a wonderful country. In these troubled times it is heartening to see the power of the government used to pursue the noble quest for knowledge while evil religious zealots are trying to drag the world back to darkness and barbarity. (oops! that sorta slipped out ;)

	While driving around hopelessly lost in our powerful minivan we saw some funny looking Bunnies. While I was hoping they were Jackalopes Carol seems to have identified them as the elusive pronghorn.
While I really don't get off on radio astronomy per se. The coolosity factor alone is worth the trip. Not to mention it is utterly amazing the accuracy and resolution they can attain. However because radio waves are instinctively a little hard to visualize I think they could use a good catchy factoid. I remember something about Arecibo being able to find a metal sphere the size of a golf ball on the moon or something to that effect. . If that ain't science I don't know what is. Of course no good government space project is complete without a conspiracy theory. There is conjecture just a few hundred was spent on Miniatures and millions in funds were diverted to Roswell. While I have strived to spread as much misinformation as possible about the The AOAA the insidious WWW gives you instant access to accurate info about this alleged VLA . With this kind of availability to knowledge how will ignorance prevail? If you have a favorite space conspiracy I would just love to hear it. Perhaps a factoid? Return to Bosque Del Apache Main Page