Visitors to the VLA at the open house last year.
VLA astronomers and staff members will lead tours between noon and 4 p.m.
“It’s an opportunity for the public to get into places they can’t normally enter on the self-guided tour,” said NRAO Public Affairs Director Dave Finley. “They’re able to speak with staff engineers and operators and ask questions. The guided tour takes about an hour. Just drive up to the visitor’s center and join the next group going out.”
Tours will start at the cafeteria building and take visitors inside the array operations building, including the control room.
The 27 radio antennas at the VLA became operational in 1980. The VLA has become the most scientifically productive ground-based telescope in the history of astronomy, Finley said.
The dishes are currently in the “A” configuration, in which the telescopes extend over the 13-mile length of each arm.
“This simulates a single dish that is 22 miles in diameter,” Finley said. “In this configuration, we have the most magnification and can see the greatest detail.”
He said that although the tours will end at 4 p.m., the VLA is open to the public on the normal self-guided tour basis until sunset.
Buses will leave the Socorro Heritage and Visitors Center at noon for those who need transportation. The fare is $10.
City Tourism Director Deborah Dean said the bus will be back at the Plaza before 5 p.m.
The turnoff to the VLA Visitor’s Center is 20 miles west of Magdalena on Highway 60.
