Tours

VLA Tour

On Monday, June 15, 2026, a group of conference attendees will be able to make a day trip to visit the Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). The VLA – one of the world’s premier astronomical radio observatories – consists of 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped configuration on the Plains of San Agustin, fifty miles west of Socorro, New Mexico. Each antenna is 25 meters (82 feet) in diameter. The data from the antennas is combined electronically to give the resolution of an antenna 36 km (22 miles) across, with the equivalent sensitivity of a dish 130 meters (422 feet) in diameter. The VLA was dedicated in 1980 and is operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). The VLA operates between 1-50 GHz. NRAO is currently planning for the Next Generation VLA (ngVLA) which will have its core located in the same location as the current VLA. The Next-Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) will have 10x the sensitivity of the VLA, and observe from 1.2 – 116 GHz. The ngVLA prototype antenna is now being tested at the VLA site. 

When visiting the VLA site, please be sure to bring sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, water, closed shoes, and long pants. The exclusive guided tour will include areas that are not open to the general public, including a visit to the control room/building and the oportunity to climb one of the VLA antennas. The VLA site does have a gift shop. Our tour guide might be able to get the group a closer look at the ngVLA prototype antenna.