Very Large Array Radio Telescope

A few of the 27 dish antennas at the VLA telescope near Socorro, New Mexico. This installation has picked up images from the Edge of the Universe, about 14.7 Billion Light Years away.

We had a busy day. After spending the night in Socorro, New Mexico, we drove to the Stallion Gate at the White Sands Missile Range to see the Trinity Site, location of the first Atom Bomb Test, July 16th, 1945. It is only open for tours on two days each year.

Actually, there were two explosions at Trinity. The first was a May 7 Calibration Test, when a pile of 4,000 boxes of TNT at 50 pounds each were set off. That blast of 100 tons of TNT was used to calibrate instruments. The second, of course was History's first fission bomb with an equivalent of 20,000 tons of TNT.

After driving to visit the VLA and having a tour, guided by an astronomer, we next went to Pie Town for a late lunch and then proceeded to Springerville, AZ, for the night.

The dishes of the VLA have to be pointed upward whenever the wind is above 40 Miles per hour because they are big sails. They are actually pointed up at 88 degrees so they won't fill up with water.

A busy day, but fun and educational. Also the pie was good!