This was a quick trip, but a noteworthy one. If you are ever in the area near the Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico it’s worth the detour. The VLA is a large collection of 27 radio dishes used to receive faint radio wave emissions from bodies in space. Each is 82ft in diameter and what makes it even more amazing is that they are all mobile! The array forms a Y with a radius that can range from 600m up to 13 miles! To make that happen each antenna is a 230 ton mobile instrument that can be moved as needed.
History aside, it is really impressive to go out and be among this scientific instrument. The site is intentionally remote so it is far from man made radio signals. Located in the middle of nowhere on a huge flat plain.
This was my second visit to the array, with my first being in the spring of 2017. We got off work a little early and it was early enough that a few coworkers and I headed out to the array before it closed. The day was pretty overcast, so not great for pictures. But while we were there it was in the D configuration which is its tightest. It was pretty neat to see all these dishes all so close together. And I did manage to get a little more footage for my New Mexico highlight video!
We made sure to do the entire walking tour and really appreciate where we were. We also watched all the movies in the visitor center which I had not had the opportunity to do before. The videos are very informative and explain in detail what they’re doing at this facility and how it differs from similar instruments like the Greenbank observatory in West Virginia which is now on my bucket list.
After our visit we made sure to get dinner at THE restaurant in nearby Datil, the Eagle Valley Ranch Cafe. It’s a small town so there aren’t a lot of options. But I recommend the bacon wrapped prime rib and the salad bar which is set into a whiskey barrel cut in half. Without competition in the area they don’t have to try, but the food and service was great anyways! One day I’ll have to find some time to explore the area around Datil. I understand there are a bunch of dirt roads and maybe some abandoned towns that need found again!
