Very Large Array (VLA)

The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array is one of the world's premier astronomical observatories and one of the most visually spectacular scientific installations anywhere on Earth. Located on the high plains of San Agustin at 6,970 feet elevation, the VLA consists of 27 massive radio telescope antennas — each 82 feet in diameter and weighing 230 tons — arranged in a Y-shaped configuration across the desert. Together, they function as a single telescope up to 22 miles across, capable of imaging distant galaxies, mapping black holes, and detecting signals from the farthest reaches of the observable universe.

The VLA is operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and is a facility of the National Science Foundation. It has been used to make some of the most important discoveries in modern astrophysics, from mapping the structure of active galactic nuclei to detecting water masers in star-forming regions. The array was famously featured in the film Contact (1997) based on Carl Sagan's novel, introducing millions of people to its otherworldly visual presence. Today the facility welcomes visitors at its impressive on-site visitor center, which offers interactive exhibits on radio astronomy, the history of the VLA, and current research.

Guided walking tours, available on weekend afternoons, bring visitors to the base of one of the massive antenna dishes — an experience that physically conveys the extraordinary scale of these instruments in a way that photographs cannot. The self-guided walking tour along the antenna maintenance road is available daily and allows close-up viewing of the dishes. The surrounding Plains of San Agustin — a broad, flat ancient lake bed encircled by mountain ranges — is itself a spectacular landscape that rewards the drive from Kiva.