Very Large Array antennas,Socorro,New Mexico,USA. The VLA,part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO),consists of 27 radio antennas arranged in a Y-configuration. Each antenna,measuring 25 metres in diameter,is a parabolic dish that collects incoming radio waves and focusses them onto a receiver. The signals from the 27 antennas are combined to make the array equivalent to a radio dish 36 kilometres across. The VLA,opened in 1980,is used to study objects such as radio galaxies,quasars,pulsars,supernova remnants,and gamma ray bursts |