Very Long Baseline Array Dish

The Very Long Baseline Array Dish (right) present at Kitt Peak is part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's greater VLBA interferometer. The array consists of 10 identical antennas, separated by distances from 200 kilometers to transcontinental 8600 kilometers (with the longest baseline between Maunakea, Hawai’i and St. Croix, Virgin Islands). The VLBA Dish is controlled remotely from the Science Operations Center in Socorro, New Mexico. Each VLBA station consists of a 25-meter antenna and an adjacent control building. During observing runs the received signals at each VLBA station are independently amplified, digitized, and recorded on fast, high capacity recorders, and then sent to the correlator in Socorro where they are (cross-)correlated.

For scientists: More details can be found on the science page.

Very Long Baseline Array Dish

Name(s)	Very Long Baseline Array Dish
Status	Operational
Broad Science Goals	Precision astrometry is the VLBA science centerpiece, however broader science goals include the observation of jets in active galactic nuclei, position measurements of gamma-ray bursts, and movies of supernovae and extended stellar atmospheres. These activities are possible with this integrated telescope, which provides images and astrometry on milliarcsecond scales. The VLBA is also valuable in the age of multi-messenger astronomy.
Site	Kitt Peak National Observatory, Arizona, USA
Location Coordinates	31° 57′ 22.51″ N 111° 36′ 44.5″ W
Altitude	1902 meters (6240 feet)
Enclosure
Type
Optical Design
Field of View	N/A
Diameter: Primary M1	25 meters
Material: Primary M1
Diameter: Secondary M2
Material: Secondary M2
Mount
First Light Date
Adaptive Optics	N/A
Images taken with the Very Long Baseline Array Dish	Link
Images of the Very Long Baseline Array Dish	Link
Videos of the Very Long Baseline Array Dish	Link
Press Releases with the Very Long Baseline Array Dish	Link

Please help us to complete this page by emailing information and corrections to info@noirlab.edu.