VLA Radio Antenna

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Radio astronomy is the study of celestial objects that emit radio waves. Using this technology, scientists can study astronomical phenomena that would otherwise be invisible. The Very Large Array is a renowned set of radio dishes in Sorocco, New Mexico, which work together as one massive antenna to scan the skies and help us learn more about the universe. Objects that are commonly studied include radio galaxies, quasars, pulsars, supernova remnants, gamma ray bursts, radio-emitting stars, the sun and planets, astrophysical masers, black holes, and the hydrogen gas that constitutes a large portion of the Milky Way galaxy.

The Array was also used for talking to distant spacecraft probes which are part of the Voyager program, a project that I have been fascinated with for a long time after hearing about its accomplishment of being responsible for sending the first man-made object outside of our solar system. Voyager 1 is just breaching the Heliopause border after travelling a million miles a day since its launch in 1977.

Canonshot Mole, and 190 other people added this photo to their favorites.

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  1. sandrotto 32 months ago | reply

    Beautiful and inspiring!

  2. Rohit Chhiber 32 months ago | reply

    Excellent NM-scape

  3. S Bavido 32 months ago | reply

    Epic scale...I love it.

  4. s.k300c 32 months ago | reply

    so great angle

  5. tj.blackwell 32 months ago | reply

    Many thanks to the Flickr blog for putting the spotlight on this picture; and thanks too to all of you kind commenters and those who marked the shot as a favourite. It's greatly appreciated and I'm glad to share a fascination of the Very Large Array with my fellow photographers :-)

  6. jpwild77 32 months ago | reply

    Amazing photo. Love how the fence leads up to the structure. WOW

  7. SouthWestDreams  32 months ago | reply

    Always get a shiver when I see those dishes miles before arriving

  8. Canonshot Mole 32 months ago | reply

    Congrats on the Flickr blog Tom !!! Just watch the views go through the roof ! ...well deserved matey

  9. Vivek Durairaj 32 months ago | reply

    Excellent work!
    My comment IN MY OWN WORDS is reflected at the end of this comment!!!


    A Definite Favorite!!
    The New Academy Group

  10. Chris Dève 32 months ago | reply

    Excellent work!
    My comment is reflected below!~
    The New Academy Group<br>
    The New Academy Group

    ** I see this wonderful work in "The New Academy" group, and my own words for this shot are:

    Presque surréaliste!!!!!!!!!!!

  11. nans0410 32 months ago | reply

    Excellent work!
    My comment is reflected below!~
    The New Academy Group<br>
    The New Academy Group

    ** I see this wonderful work in "The New Academy" group, and my own words for this shot are:

  12. FLEMING2009 32 months ago | reply


    A Definite Favorite!!
    The New

  13. donato bellomo 31 months ago | reply

    Excellent work!
    My comment is reflected below!~
    The New Academy Group<br>
    The New Academy Group

    ** I see this wonderful work in "The New Academy" group, and my own words for this shot are:

  14. mediagrump.com 26 months ago | reply

    LOVE the VLA! I took a panoramic shot of all of them spaced out on the tracks.... I wonder where that went..... this of course is 15 years ago. lol

  15. dsnopek 26 months ago | reply

    Hello! I used this photo on my blog:

    www.linguatrek.com/blog/2011/05/rozmowa-z-piotrem-na-podk...

    I attributed the photo to you and included a link back here in the image caption. Please let me know if you would like it attributed differently. Thanks for sharing!

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