VLBA (Los Alamos)

Originally uploaded by david

What’s out there? Are we alone? Are the Universe’s mysteries right there waiting to be unlocked?

And how do we find out?

The answer is by doing a whole lot of dedicated research, using the tools that we have. One of those tools is the Very Large Array (VLA) in Socorro, New Mexico. The VLA is a series of radio telescopes doing exactly this kind of research. You’ve probably heard of the VLA, or even seen it in a movie. This radio telescope, however, is not in Socorro. Or anywhere close. It is actually just outside of the Bandelier National Monument in Northern New Mexico (although it is considered to be in Los Alamos) and part of the Very Large Baseline Array (VLBA). It is one of ten such isolated radio telescopes and a big part of the research the VLA is conducting. All together these ten form the world’s largest dedicated full time very long baseline interferometry instrument.

This is a 25m (82feet) dish antenna and is amazingly impressive close up (it is as tall as a 10 story building, which is none too short). However, I preferred this view of the radio telescope seemingly nestled in the snowy mountains.

So this radio telescope is pointed at the heavens, listening. Watching. Learning. Learning about radio galaxies, quasars, pulsars, supernovas and other really fun things out there. And piece by piece the mystery of what is out there is being unlocked.