Very Large Array

The array sits at about 2,120 metres on the Plains of San Agustin, a flat basin ringed by mountains that shields it from radio interference. Twenty-seven dishes, each twenty-five metres across and weighing around 210 tonnes, stand in a Y with arms up to twenty-one kilometres long. The dishes are not fixed: they run on railway track and a specially built transporter lifts and moves them between configurations every three to four months, trading resolution against sensitivity - so the array looks quite different depending when you visit. Combined electronically they work as a single instrument. The visitor centre is self-guided with a walking trail out to one dish, and the site appeared in the film Contact.

What's there

• Twenty-seven twenty-five-metre dishes - arranged in a Y.
• Dishes moved on rail track - reconfigured several times a year.
• A walking trail to one dish - up close from the visitor centre.
• A flat basin at about 2,120 metres - chosen for radio quiet.

When to go

April to October; guided tours run on set days. Two to three hours.

Practical notes

The configuration changes, so the compact arrangement of the famous photographs is only there part of the year. Mobile phones must be off or in airplane mode. It is remote with no services nearby. Winter weather closes the road at times.

Nearby

Magdalena is east; Pie Town is west along US 60.

Key facts