From Santa Fe, we took a slight detour to see the Very Large Array (VLA). The VLA is one of the largest radio telescopes in the world. There are 18 dishes, each 82 feet (25 m) in diameter, in a Y shape, with six dishes per axis. The dishes are on tracks so that they can bunch the dishes together or spread them out. Spread out, the total diameter is 23 miles (37 km), bigger than Washington DC. This was the configuration that was in place, when we visitied, making my photos less dramatic.

The VLA isn’t really set up for tourists, rather it is set up to actually get work done. Though there is an out-of-date vistor’s center and a small walking tour. The VLA was cool nonetheless. Oh, and if you’ve seen the movie Contact, with Jodie Foster, then you’ve seen the VLA.