Now for Something Completely Different (and a Little the Same)

As I left Bosque del Apache, I decided to make a little (two-hour) detour for a completely different experience. I visited the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)'s Karl G. Jansky* Very Large Array (VLA) on the remote Plains of San Agustin fifty miles west of Socorro, New Mexico. 

Just like a sci-fi movie

One of the world's premier astronomical radio observatories, the VLA comprises 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped configuration. 

An interesting place

By electronically combining data from each of the 82-foot-diameter antennas, the NRAO is able to achieve the resolution of an antenna 22 miles across, with the sensitivity of a dish 422 feet in diameter. 

The things are huge

It was opened in 1975 and is used primarily by astronomers from around the world. It's also occasionally used for atmospheric and weather studies, satellite tracking and other miscellaneous research. 

It has a small visitors center ...

And, it was open!

... with some creative tiles in the ladies' room ...

They should sell these tiles

Among the projects the VLA has been used for is to look into the center of our galaxy 26,000 light years away. It has detected the birth and death of stars and planets. It often works in concert with the Hubble Space Telescope.

VLA/Hubble radio and visible-light image of the Teacup Galaxy; Photo: C. Harrison, A. Thomson, B. Saxton, NRAO, AUI, NSF, NASA

The antennas sit along a railroad track and are moved depending on what kind of research they are doing. Unfortunately, none were being moved when I was there.

I wanted to watch them crank

The VLA is in a very remote area to protect it from radio signals and electromagnetic interference. You have to put your phone in airplane mode when you visit.

One of very few people there, I took the self-guided walking tour completely by myself. It is a short stroll that gives some closer access to the large telescopes (although you can't go too close) ...

Intimidating

... and the radio sundial.

A unique art piece

It is constructed using pieces of a famous radio telescope that radio astronomy pioneer Ron Bracewell built near the Stanford University campus. It is, unfortunately, covered with graffiti. 

Why do people do that?

The ball makes a great spot for a fun selfie ...

Cool look

The VLA was also featured in the movie Contact, a point still celebrated at the site, even though some of the science in the film - specifically Jodie Foster using headphones to "listen" - were not correct.

I loved that move: Photo: Warner Bros.

As I left, I saw a few fast-moving Hawks and a herd of Pronghorn -- a nice mix of tech and nature.

Are they there for the science or the grass?

More Wildlife

Before I headed home, I made one more stop: the Ladd S. Gordon Waterfowl Complex near Bernardo, New Mexico. 

Sandhill Cranes

The greeter at the Bosque del Apache visitor center had recommended it as an additional viewing site for Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese. It has a dirt road with a number of viewing platforms and blinds, although, typically, the birds tended to NOT be near these structures. 

Empty lake

I grabbed some more pictures of Sandhill Cranes. I didn't see any Snow Geese. 

He went thataway

Then, I headed out for the long drive home.

I contemplated stopping for the night so that I could visit Fort Union national Historic Site in northern New Mexico, but didn't. I have driven by it so many times, but always too late, too early or when I was in too much of a hurry, Oh, well, someday!

Trip date: January 27-29, 2016

*Karl Guthe Jansky (who was born in Norman Oklahoma, in 1905) invented the rotating radio telescope while investigating sources of static interference for radio voice transmission while he was working for Bell Labs. His discovery of radio signals coming from the Milky Way was big news in 1933. But, because Jansky's invention had little to do with voice transmission, Bell Labs did not pursue further research. And, because it was during the Depression, no other scientists took up the work until Grote Reber built a radio telescope in his back yard in 1937 and did the first systematic survey of radio waves from the sky. Then, after World War II, John Kraus,  started a radio observatory at The Ohio State University and wrote a textbook on radio astronomy, which is still the "bible" for radio astronomers.