Turning American Radio Astronomy into Art | The Very Large Array (VLA)
The United States National Science Foundation (NSF) Very Large Array (VLA) is a powerful radio telescope in New Mexico composed of 27 movable antennas that work together as one enormous instrument to observe faint cosmic radio waves. Conceived in the 1960s at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) to complement single-dish telescopes, it was preceded by the Green Bank Interferometer that helped develop key technologies in communication and signal correlation.
Approved by Congress in 1972 and formally dedicated in 1980, the VLA was built on the remote Plains of San Agustin—chosen for its isolation from radio interference and its dry desert climate. This minimizes distortion from atmospheric water vapor. Each 82-foot dish can move on an altitude-azimuth mount and is periodically repositioned along rail tracks forming a Y-shaped array up to 23 miles across, allowing astronomers to adjust resolution and capture extraordinary detail from distant regions of the universe.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the U.S. National Science Foundation operated under a cooperative agreement with Associated Universities, Inc.
Release Date: Oct. 21, 2025
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