1003 Lopezville Road
Socorro, NM
505-835-7000
(505)
website
- Hours: Open daily
- Reservations: Not required
- Cost: Free
- Location: 50 miles west of Socorro, NM, driving directions below.
- How Long: Allow about an hour
- Best Time to Visit: Free guided tours are given once per quarter and on summer weekends (dates posted on their website), no reservations required
Very Large Array Radio Telescope
Made famous by the movie Contact, the radio telescope is where scientists explore the heavens by collecting the radio waves generated by objects deep in space.Visitor center exhibits show some of the data collected by the radio telescope, an array of 27 large dish antennas, each the size of baseball diamond. A 9-minute video also explains how the radio telescope works, but the most enjoyable part of visiting the radio telescope is the self-guided tour.
After passing the Whisper Gallery, which demonstrates how the antennas work using sound instead of radio waves, the tour leads out to the base of one of the antennas, and then up to a second-floor balcony where you can see not only the entire radio telescope array, but also a prototype of the new ALMA radio telescope being built in South America.
Photographs are allowed at the radio telescope, but keep the cell phones OFF (they interfere with the measurements).
As you leave, turn right out of the parking lot and drive by the Antena Assembly Building, where you can usually see the transporters used to move the antennas.
The radio telescope is at an elevation of 7,000 feet. It will be colder here than at lower elevations in the surrounding towns, so bring extra clothing. Snow is possible September through May.
You'll find restrooms, water and soft drink machines, but no food here.
Getting to the Very Large Array Radio Telescope
From U. S. Highway 60 west of Socorro, turn south on NM Highway 52 and follow the signs to the radio telescope visitor center.If You Liked the Very Large Array Radio Telescope, You May Also Like:
- Titan Missile Museum, Tucson, AZ: The only surviving Titan missile silo is now a museum.
- Kitt Peak Observatory, Tucson, AZ: Star-gazing in the visible wavelength range.
