Very Large Array (VLA) radio antenna,with the Sun casting an orange glow through a haze. The VLA,part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO),consists of 27 radio antennas,each measuring 25 metres in diameter. Each parabolic dish collects incoming radio waves and focuses 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 astronomical objects such as radio galaxies,quasars,pulsars,supernova remnants,and gamma ray bursts. Photographed on the Plains of San Agustin,New Mexico,USA |