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Socorro, New Mexico, is the home of NRAO operations in New Mexico.
Located on the campus of
New Mexico Tech,
the Array Operations Center
houses scientific, engineering, technical, computer and support staff
for both the Very Large Array and the Very Long Baseline Array. It includes
the control center and correlator for VLBA observations and provides
space for the
Atacama Large Millimeter Array project.
The
Very Large Array (VLA),
one of the world's premier astronomical radio
observatories, consists of 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped
configuration on the Plains of San Agustin 80 km (50 miles) miles west of
Socorro, New Mexico. Each antenna is 25 meters (82 feet) in diameter.
The data from the antennas is combined electronically to give the
resolution of an antenna 36km (22 miles) across, with the sensitivity
of a dish 130 meters (426.5 feet) in diameter.
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Twilight at The Very Large Array, near Socorro, New Mexico
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National Radio
