The Air and Space Fiesta, Kirtland Air Force Base/ Albuquerque, New Mexico

Posted: May 20, 2019 | Author: Richard Lakin | Filed under: world travels | Tags: airshow, Albuquerque, desert, New Mexico | Leave a comment

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The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array/ Central New Mexico

Posted: July 2, 2018 | Author: Richard Lakin | Filed under: deserts | Tags: desert, New Mexico, radio telescope, southwest, The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array | Leave a comment

The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array is a radio astronomy observatory located in central New Mexico on the Plains of San Agustin, and was a location in the movie “Contact.” It is on a fairly isolated high desert plateau (about 7,000 ft.) and surrounded by mountains, making it an ideal spot to avoid the normal wireless interference in cities. The lack of humidity in the air also makes for a clearer radio signal. There is no cell service there and visitors are asked to put their phones in airplane mode.

The array is routinely re-configured to cover different parts of the sky by moving the dishes on a network of railroad tracks.

This is part of a photo series featuring the American southwest.

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