What's VLA? (and Petroglyphs)

We devoured a hearty breakfast in Reserve, then drove to the site of the Very Large Array - a group of radio antennas operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

We took the self-guided walking tour... and heeded the warning signs.



I love it when an organization picks a simple name. This group of telescopes is called the Very Large Array. You can't get any simpler than that, right? I mean - I suppose they could have chosen Big Ass Array - BAA... but the public probably wouldn't appreciate it as much. Plus you'd probably have scientists running around sounding like sheep when they want to do research at the BAA.


Scientist here "study the radio waves that are emitted by celestial objects" - meaning they study anything in the sky.

Remember the 1997 movie Contact? And do you remember when Jodie Foster would listen for signals from extraterrestrials? Well, these telescopes don't work that way.

The signals are sent to a computer from multiple telescopes, analyzed, and combined for easier interpretation.



One alarming fact we read was that the amount of data collected over the past 30 years adds up to 2 Terabytes of information. The new fiber optic/correlator system can collect that same amount of data every 100 seconds. WOW!

By the way, the Contact film crew was on location for only 5 days - they were long days - but only 5 of them. Two other recognizable movies were filmed here - Independence Day (1996) and Armageddon (1998).


Facts:
Plans for the VLA began in the 1960's. In 1967, the first design and proposal was submitted to the National Science Foundation, but rejected. Improved Plans were submitted again in 1972 and Congress approved the project. Work began in 1974, and the first antenna assembled on site in 1975. And by 1977, there were 6 working antennas.

The array of 27 telescopes was completed in 1981 at a cost of $78,600,000 which the brochure pridefully adds "on schedule and on budget." There is no cost to use the array or to obtain the results.


Antenna Facts:

• 27 antennas of the array
• each weighs 235 tons (470,000 pounds)
• 82 foot diameter dishes
• 94 feet high (when pointed straight up)
• The antennas are painted white to limit heat from the sun.

Two self-propelled (400 horsepower, note our Subaru has 175 horsepower), self-powered transporter moves each antenna along one of 3 arms (tracks), which form the array.


While not as large at the Crawler Transporter for the space shuttle, it operates in a similar way.

Loaded, the transporter moves about 4 mph, 10 mph when empty.
It weighs 335 tons with an antenna, and 100 tons when empty.
And it takes 2-8 hours to move an antenna, and 1-2 weeks are needed to reconfigure the whole array.


The Array is generally found in one of four standard configurations - ranging from 0.4 miles to 13 miles from the center of the array.


There is one large hangar-style building on site called the Antenna Assembly Building. This is where all antennas were built from 1975-1980. It is now a service building, and each antenna is brought in once every 3-4 years for maintenance.

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We stopped for lunch in the run-down Pie Town. We walked into the cafe after a very large pot-bellied man who sat with an older gentleman. They talked about the summer heat and rattlesnakes.

Richie and I shared a burger then excitedly ordered a slice of apple pie with a scoop of ice cream. The pie was okay - we've had much better in Julian, CA. but it satisfied our sweet tooth for the moment.


We passed the Continental Divide a few more times...


And we spent the rest of the afternoon driving the curvy roads of New Mexico, stopping to stare at the incredible terrain. We were in awe when we approached The Narrows.


We stopped at the El Malpais National Monument and viewed the Sandstone Bluffs and the Natural Arch.

Ruins of a 1930's homestead on Sandstone Bluff

La Ventana "The Window" is one of New Mexico's largest natural arches

We spent the night at Bluewater Lake State Park. The most memorable parts of this park were the wild horses and the signage.


Our next stop was Petroglyphs National Monument located in the Boca Negra "black mouth" Canyon. We were amazed that the public is allowed to walk amongst the petroglyphs. Of course, there are signs everywhere asking visitors not to touch the petroglyphs because oil and dirt from hands can decay the rock... but I'm not sure how many people follow the rules.


There is some modern day graffitti... one in particular that caught our eye said "This is all fake." The park is smart in using this graffitti as an opportunity to compare modern day carvings to the monument's petroglyphs.


The petroglyphs are EVERYWHERE. Many rocks have cracked and tumbled over the years - but every corner contains a carving. The park ranger said this is still a very sacred place for the Pueblo Indians - and they still hold ceremonies on the mountain.


There are approximately 20,000 petroglyphs in the park. A few of the petroglyphs are believed to be created around 1000 B.C. But most carvings here were done in the "Rio Grande style" which is said to have developed suddenly around 1300 A.D. and continued until the late 17th century. There was a dramatic increase in population and construction of pueblos along the Rio Grande during this period. I hope you have as much fun finding the petroglyphs as we did.



As we approached the Macaw Trail in the national monument, we saw a park ranger bouncing around near the bathrooms. We thought he either had to pee really bad - and the bathroom was occupied - or he was chasing a snake away. It turns out he was shooing a ground squirrel. We left him to his bouncing and returned to find the ranger successfully shooed the squirrel by splashing it with water.


Next stop: Albuquerque