The Very Large Array (VLA), a large radio telescope array, is located some 50 miles west of Socorro NM on the Plains of San Augustin. The VLA is made up of 27 radio telescope antennas in a "Y" pattern with 9 radio telescopes on each leg of the Y. Each antenna is an 82 foot dish and weighs 230 tons. The receiver and associated electronics on each antenna are cooled to 15 degrees Kelvin (-457 degrees Fahrenheit) to minimize internally generated noise. The altitude of the plain where the array operates is 7000 feet, above much of the noise generating atmosphere. The antennas are moveable over a track system to make up several configurations with the smallest being just over a half-mile in diameter and the largest being some 22 miles in diameter. In the largest configuration, the VLA has the resolution of an antenna 22 miles across and the sensitivity of a dish 422 feet across. The VLA is operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Proposals to use the array are accepted from astronomers worldwide and are judged solely on their scientific merit. Once a proposal is accepted, there is no charge for the use of the array and the associated computers.
One of the antennas in the array. As you can see, the clouds are gathering for a good storm!
Here's a shot down one of the legs of the Y. A long telephoto gives you the illusion of "compressing" the distance between the far dishes.
The
antenna is secured to the transporter and the move is on! During a move, the
transporter supplies the antenna with the power needed to keep the receiver
and associated electronics cooled and stable. It takes two to eight hours to
relocate one antenna and a week to two to reconfigure the whole array.Looking back down one of the legs along the tracks used to move the antennas. The weather is really starting to get a bit nasty - no rain yet, but a front is moving through with a 20 degree drop in temperature and high winds -
There is a self-guided tour of the control area and in the visitor's center, a nice 20 minute slide show giving you an overview of the VLA operation and radio telescopes in general. This has got to be one of the most "off-the-beaten-path" places I've visited on this trip. This is not exactly one of your top tourist attractions!
After the self-guided tour, I decided on a "self-guided" tour through the desert. I set a straight course past one of the remote antennas toward the town of Magdalena. I made it about two miles before I came to a fence. Hmmm. I could open the gate and go through - it's not locked. But then I might find myself in someone's pasture with no way out. So I back-tracked to a place where I could get back on the highway.
Back in Socorro, it's started to rain. My evening visit to the refuge is off.
Wednesday/Thursday, 11/12-13/2003, Day 30 and 31.
Nasty weather. It rains heavy both days and I'm mostly confined to the RV. I do get out to do a little shopping. Very little actually - there isn't much in Socorro and the nearest real shopping center is about 60 miles to the north and I'm told the Interstate is closed because of flooding. Mostly I work on the Journal and catch up on my reading (Stephen King and Tom Clancy on this trip).
Friday, 11/14/2003, Day 32.
I'm leaving for Raleigh NC early tomorrow so my plan is to get the RV ready to store for a few days, pack and then leave for Albuquerque this afternoon. My flight is at 900 am tomorrow morning so I'll stay in a motel near the airport so I don't have to get up too early. It rains most of the morning but clears up just in time for me to leave for Albuquerque!
Saturday-Tuesday, 11/15-18/2003, Days 33 through 36.
My flight leaves right on time Saturday morning. I've a plane change in Houston TX with 50 minutes to make the next flight. Of course, the continuing flight is in another terminal but fortunately, my flight from Albuquerque arrives right on time so I have the whole 50 minutes to make the next terminal. The second flight leaves right on time and we arrive in Raleigh on time as well.
Security was amazingly easy. I checked in at an electronic kiosk in front of the Continental counter in Albuquerque. The kiosk allowed me to change my seats to better ones and when done with the process, spit out the appropriate boarding passes and baggage tag. I took the baggage tag and my one check-on to the good lady behind the counter and was on my way. I had one carry-on with some camera equipment (I'd never put my camera in a check-on bag, although I did pack my laptop in my check-on). When I went through physical security my carry-on was flagged for a physical inspection. Another nice lady waved a sniffer over and around my bag apparently looking for explosives - she found none and I was on my way again without taking off my shoes or any other article of clothing! Altogether a painless check-in from the parking lot to the airplane loading gate. My guess is that in a larger airport with more of a crowd, check-in and security could quickly turn into a real circus.
As for parking at Albuquerque you have your choice of long-term for a maximum of $8 a day and short-term for $10 a day. That's a no-brainer - for the three to four days the Jeep would be parked, I chose the short-term lot. I ended up parking two spots away from the elevator to the terminal. Albuquerque is definitely not one of your busier terminals.
My visit in Raleigh was nice. I've now a lovely granddaughter - Sophia Elizabeth. See her pics at http://www.kenbeard.com/sophie --
The return trip to Albuquerque was as easy as the trip coming in. I arrive in Albuquerque right on time and get back to the RV Park just after dark. Tomorrow is a travel day - Socorro NM to Carlsbad NM - so I get the RV ready for that.