Pepper C.

Shout out to Bob and Chris at the Karl Janskey VLA! It was nice to see you all again. Glad I was able to take my now husband to visit one of my favorite happy places. Can't wait to see what the New Generation of Arrays start to find. I'm so excited to see the progress! In my last post I started I was there for the 25th anniversary of Contact. I actually was last there 6 years ago when I took my mommy and my sister the awesomeness that is the VLA. Perfect timing...we were there to witness the wide survey and probably the last time they gave the tour inside where the magic is. What can I say about the peeps in the gift shop? Always so welcoming. I guess you can see tell my excitement that the VLA is truly one of my favorite places. I love too far to visit often ( hence the 6 yr gap) but I will forever make it a point to visit every chance I get. Thanks again to Bob and Chris. We'll talk again soon!

Jason B.

Bucket List stuff right here lady's & gents Each dish 27 of them is 82 feet in diameter, weighs in @ 230 tons, and is mounted on railroad tracks which allow easier repositioning. The resolution is set by the size of the array. At the highest resolution, it could see a golf ball 100 miles away. Astronomers using the VLA have made key observations of black holes and protoplanetary disks around young stars, discovered magnetic filaments and traced complex gas motions at the Milky Way's center, probed the Universe's cosmological parameters, and provided new knowledge about the physical mechanisms that produce radio emission.

Marcus F.

The very large array is a very long drive from the freeway... Is it worth it? Yes I think so but be ready for a three hour commitment minimum (1 hour there, 1 hour at the Array and 1 hour back to the freeway). This experience will includes a small interpretive center, a walking trail to one of the radio telescopes, and a peek into the telescope maintenance shed. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to see a working scientific equipment up close.. Tips. First off there is misleading and conflicting information on taking pictures here. Phone cameras are not allowed and must be turned off. Tho when you read the expanded rules in the bathroom you can use your phone for a quick picture. Regular cameras are okay (Nikon, Canon, etc). This place closes as dusk. But the gift shop closes at 4:30. You come at 4:39 and you're here for free. The main building and surrounding area will remain open and unlocked until security comes by and chases any stragglers away when it's dark. We came at about 5pm and the sun was setting and when we left at 6pm is was almost dark . We were the only people here..

Carol I.

I decided to take the road less traveled... ... and found THIS!!! Really Truly no words can describe how I felt at this moment... I'm on this road trip for six weeks and this was my second day. I spent the first night in Truth or Consequences (which I highly suggest and enjoy the hot springs!) so I decided to go west from Socorro instead going up to ABQ. I was just driving along and I see a sign "The Very Large Array Visitors Center". I thought in my head "What's that?" and kept driving... then I saw these huge dish satellites... and a place to pull over so I stopped. There were some bicyclers that had stopped for a break. I asked them what it was. I didn't get a good answer. I asked them could this be from the movie "Contact" and I got a shrug. Oh hell, I'm turning around... I have to check out what this is... I traveling alone and don't really have a deadline to be anywhere... I had no phone reception out in the middle of nowhere (and I have AT&T) so I couldn't 'check in' to Yelp or check what this was about. So two miles back, then another mile or two to the visitor's center. Signs are asking you to turn off your phones when you arrive. I walk into the doors and I see pictures of the movie "Contact" ... and I start crying! I LOVE CONTACT! I can't believe I'M HERE!!! Bon Jovi's video and album cover for Crush was also filmed here as many other have also been... * NOTE * if you stop by on the first Sat of the month, they open the doors to have a look inside the control room... so maybe one day I'll plan my trip accordingly. also on a side note to this story, over the past month, a new friend and I had started bonding over Ancient Aliens and other stories so it was just weird coincidence / serendipity that this happened to me.... just so amazing that I'M HERE!!! Of course I'm going to pay your cover charge to walk around the grounds and watch your movie in the little theater... and of course I'm going to buy stuff in your gift shop! The dishes even turned positions while I was there... and I got to see fighter jets fly above while snapped photos. This visit was unreal and surreal. Bucket List Check! ... and I didn't know it was on there! Loved it!

Elizabeth H.

My family and I were on our way back from our trip to Colorado, we decided to make a stop at the VLA visitor center. The movie Contact (as well as several other movies were filmed at this site). Our kids range from ages 8-14. There is a small area where it goes through how the telescopes work as well explain what discoveries have been made because of them. There is a short film you can what in a small theater about the history of VLA and how they have innovated the technology that is being used, it is 23 minutes long. There is some walking involved to see everything on dirt paths but it's not too bad. This is a great place to visit if you are in the area.

Yuko H.

Remember the 1997 movie Contact by Jodie Foster, where the alien signal is first detected? How about 2009 science-fiction film Terminator Salvation? I am sure we've seen many satellite dish lined up in those movies or somewhere. So this is the place! When my friend suggest to see a large dish, I wasn't too motivated as I've seen one at Mauna Kea in Hawaii. We decided to drive by anyway to see what is it like. As we got closer, I became excited and with lots of questions. Why here? What are they used??? My curious mind wanted to go in and pay $6 admission fee to go inside. ($5 with AAA card, or 18 or younger is free). Short film to explain this facility and function was very informative. Now I know why here and what they are used for. They have self guided tour available and I read everything that was there and learned as much as offered. They are located so far away, middle of nowhere for a reason, if it is hard for you to travel, I highly recommend going to their website for virtual tour. I was like a little kid amazed by what these dish can do. If you decide to visit, I recommend during D configuration when dishes are closest together. When I went, it was A configuration and dishes are farthest apart from each other. Configuration changes every 90 days. Check their web site for proposed schedule. Super computer, full inside upgrade, communication with hubble, how each dish configuration collects different data, all there was fascinating. Semiconductor has advanced significantly since 1970s, how they worked on upgrade interested me a lot. Felt as such a nerd while there for overly getting excited but it is exciting here if you are interested in such things. If you do decide to visit here, don't forget to change your phone to airplane mode.

Terry T.

The VLA is located on the Plains of San Augustine in a remote and sparsely populated region of New Mexico. The site is at an elevation of 6970 feet and is ringed by mountain peaks that keep any radio interference from the surrounding areas from interfering with the telescopes Highway 60 is an almost straight two lane highway from Socorro, and unless you want to drive more than 50 miles on a dirt road it is the only way to visit the VLA. I doubt we saw more than a couple of cars on our way here. I felt like I was in an episode of the Twilight Zone going someplace otherworldly. As we approached we could see the 27 radio telescopes pointed skyward, they appeared small to me until we pulled into the parking lot. They are not small; the antennas are 83 feet in diameter and weight 230 tons. The site was quiet, only an occasional truck with workers passed us as we walked along the public access area. As the sun began to set the telescopes moved and changed the direction they were pointed. The sky turned red, the telescopes glowed, and it was breathtaking. The visitor center showed very interesting videos. The gift shop was closed for a one day remodel the day we went, but peeking in they had many interesting things to buy. The bathrooms were clean. The center was warm which made me happy, because it was verrry cold outside.

Leslie W.

We can't make it up on a Saturday for the guided tours (1st and 3rd Saturdays) because of work schedules. But we did do the self walking tour. With all the informative signs located along the way you get a ton of info. Plus you get to stand about as close to under one as possible! Start inside in the visitor center. There's a LOT of info and video available...including the 25 minute documentary narrated by Jody Foster.The gift shop is full of great items from t-shirts to cups and Christmas ornaments. I think I spent about $45 and got more than I needed. If you think you are gonna show up and see the dishes all bunched together like they are in the movies, you will be disappointed. They are spread out over 100s of miles of railroad track. But they are still impressive and every so often you can watch one of them tilt very slowly toward something in the sky. The VLA address says Socorro, New Mexico but it is located 50 miles west of Socorro. The GPS coordinates are 34 04'43.497N, 107 37'05.819W The drive feels like you are driving out in the middle of nowhere. And you are. This site covers something like 100 square miles. You will start seeing the dishes pop up in the middle of the desert long before you get to the visitor center.

Susan S.

You remember the movie, Contact with Jodie Foster? Well both me and the husband decided to go today..... at first far away it didn't quite look like what we saw in the movie where they were all together... there's a reason for that.... they can be moved to different locations and depending on what angle you look at them.... Oh my were they ever unique and huge.... So the price to get in is between $4-$6/person depending on age and military id... it's a self-guided walking tour... which I didn't mind plus they do have a 20-minute film which is narrated by Jodie Foster... very informative... I don't want to give too much away as you just need to experience it yourself... if you ever wondered about it, then hop in your vehicle and get on over and check it out.....

Larry M.

The Very Large Array is a world-class data gathering facility maintained by the national science foundation. The data gathered here is crucial to our understanding of the Cosmos. This truly spectacular facility is sited on the Plains of St. Augustine just west of Socorro, New Mexico. Elev ~ 7,000 feet.

Corey G.

Our mobile personal electromagnetic-wave detectors (i.e. our eyes) see a sky of peace & chill, but our eyes only see a teeny tiny section (400-800nanometer waves) of the big picture. There are tons of other waves invisible to us. And when you get to big waves (a few millimeters to many kilometers), these waves paint the night sky as a head-banging, violent, and vibrant show of activity. This is the type of show the Very Large Array (VLA) has front row seats to 24 hours a day. In the dry, desolate, and beautiful desert of New Mexico sits the VLA. The Goliath 27 antennas which make up the VLA sit in big triangular formation. All the antennas sit atop a train car like structure, and each antenna can be moved along a "train" track to reconfigure the antenna. So, what you have here is a huge zoom radio lens. When the antennas are spread out the farthest (arms are ~13miles long), you are zoomed in to a section of sky & have a high resolution and can see intimate details of what you're looking at. When the antennas are bunched up together, you are in a "wide lens" setting and can see a much bigger picture of the sky. Enough technicality, it's just cool. The VLA is a cool engineering feat to just drive by and see. And if you are in the area, you have to check out the Visitor Center and take a self-guided tour of the facility. The Visitor Center has many exhibits about radio astronomy, the VLA, and some of their observations. There is also a theater which plays a short film about the site. My favorite part of the Visitor Center was the gift shop. Whether you want a nerdy and cool T-shirt, or a "Very Large Shot" glass, you will have tons of cool gift options here. The staff were also very nice and friendly. It seems like the exhibits are a bit dated, but this place has been around for a while, and I wondered about how much traffic they got here---I was the only visitor the entire time I was here. Now, you should also take tour. They have guided tours on the first Saturday of each month, but if you can't make that, you can also take a self-guided tour. I took the latter, and was under a time constraint, but I was able to walk to a few outdoor exhibits, walk very close to one of the antennas, and then walk around the Control Room Building. One thing I regretted not seeing, was the beautiful canyon next to the VLA---y'know, the one Jodie Foster's character sat near with the huge antenna's in the background. If you are looking for the same canyon---tough luck! That was all CGI-ed in there! Yup, in the movie Contact, they imported the breathtaking Canyon de Chelly from Arizona to help spice up the scenery (read my review: http://www.yelp.com/biz/canyon-de-chelly-national-monument-chinle#hrid:5NjqvBuX1wQ1EpPLv0oEtw). But it's ok, the VLA will take your breath away scientifically. [Google Map note: The location of this place must be for an office in Socorro, and not the actual observatory in the desert an hour west.]