A Day at the Very Large Array (VLA)

bmattock · 03-13-2004

Hello again!

I have some interesting news for you all. For the past couple of weeks, I've been unemployed. I did fly to the east coast last week for a job interview, and it went well - I believe we'll be moving there shortly. Should get a call on Monday.

Since we'll be leaving sunny New Mexico, there are a few things I wanted to see before we left - and this was one of them.

West of Soccoro, New Mexico, is the "Very Large Array," which is a collection of gigantic radio telescopes that are set up in a "Y" configuration on double sets of train tracks. The dishes can be moved in and out to make the arms of the Y bigger or smaller - like a zoom lens on a camera.

It's about a 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive from Albuquerque, and not well-marked (they really don't seem to enjoy visitors all that much), but it is worth the trip if you ever get a chance.

Here's the first photo:

bmattock · 03-13-2004

I took my Yashica Electro 35 CC (35/1.8), my Voigtlander Bessa R, and a couple of lenses for the Bessa:

35/3.5 A. Schacht Travegon
50/1.8 Canon RF
90/2.8 A. Schacht Travenar
135/3.5 A. Schacht Travenar

This was the first trip out for the A. Schacht 35 and 135 - I just got 'em recently. I like the Schacht's, they are light aluminum and seem to travel well. My 90 is a laser-sharp dream. Turns out the 135 is fuzzy - don't like it at all so far. But the 35 is very nice.

The photo I just posted above was taken with the Yashica Electro 35 CC. Nice lens on that bad boy.

Here's another:

bmattock · 03-13-2004

Here's a little detail on one of the arrays:

bmattock · 03-13-2004

Some perspective - oh look, people!

bmattock · 03-13-2004

Woah - a little lightning!

Rich Silfver · 03-13-2004

Interesting place that I'd love to visit some day.
(The lens on the CC does seem really nice...hmm...)

bmattock · 03-13-2004

Here's how they move these massive things around - a special locomotive - it runs on dual sets of train tracks. They call this one "The High Plains Lifter." LOL, clever...

bmattock · 03-13-2004

Last one - close up of the AAF - Antenna Assembly Facility.

back alley · 03-13-2004

very cool bill!

Doug · 03-13-2004

Bill, nice pics! I particularly like the first one and the one with lightning. But especially the first. Those stormy clouds provide a wonderful patterned backdrop to the smooth shapes of the dish, and I like the lower viewpoint. I also like the people in the higher viewpoint one, but the background has changed.

oftheherd · 03-14-2004

Always thought that would be a neat place to visit. Thanks for sharing. Interesting how they move those giants.

bmattock · 03-14-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by Doug
Bill, nice pics! I particularly like the first one and the one with lightning. But especially the first. Those stormy clouds provide a wonderful patterned backdrop to the smooth shapes of the dish, and I like the lower viewpoint. I also like the people in the higher viewpoint one, but the background has changed.

Doug,

Thanks! The first picture was taken with a red (Wrattan 25) filter, using Kodak Black & White 400 chromogenic color print film. The color images were Fuji Superia XTRA 400 color print film. The clouds moved in and out fairly quickly - we saw lightning, then it seemed about to rain, then the sky cleared a bit, then...etc. It was an interesting day!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

wierdcollector · 03-14-2004

Nice pictures as always Bill. Hope you get the east coast job. I have the 135mm Schacht Travenar in M42 mount and liked the few shots I've taken with it. Keep up the great work and let us know where on the east coast you end up.

bmattock · 03-14-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by wierdcollector
Nice pictures as always Bill. Hope you get the east coast job. I have the 135mm Schacht Travenar in M42 mount and liked the few shots I've taken with it. Keep up the great work and let us know where on the east coast you end up.

I suspect that the 135 Travenar is simply mis-adjusted. Since I was shooting effectively at infinity most times, I should have gotten sharper images than I did. But I had nothing in the foreground to compare - to see if the focal point was off and if so, by how much. All very blurry.

Right now, the very best 135 I have for the Bessa is a Canon (black barrel) f3.5. It seems razor-sharp, and it is also light compared to the brass-n-chrome behemoths that Canon also put out in 135.

I've seen the Travenar series in M42 mount, thought about getting one - I might yet. I had a line on a Super-Travenar on eBay, but decided not to go the extra in the last few minutes.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

Scarpia · 03-14-2004

Best wishes on your job search.
The radio telescopes are very interesting. What are they listening for?
Best wishes, Kurt M.

bmattock · 03-14-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by Scarpia
Best wishes on your job search.
The radio telescopes are very interesting. What are they listening for?
Best wishes, Kurt M.

Kurt,

Thanks! My prospective boss told me that he's going to make me a job offer on Monday, so I think I can say that I will have a job tomorrow.

The radio telescopes are, in my wife's words, "Listening to the universe talk to itself." That's not entirely true, but very poetic.

The VLA was featured in the movies "2010" and "Contact" I believe (I could be wrong). In "Contact," the implication was that the VLA was involved in SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life), which it is not. The VLA is used to make images of galaxies that are far beyond the reach of optical telescopes, using a science known as 'interferometry'. They connect all 27 of these antennae together in such a fashion that they behave as if they were one gigantic telescope (which would be 26 kilometers wide) and they focus them on various subjects in the sky.

Recently, they found what appears to be evidence of an actual black hole, before only theoretical. They've also mapped the core of the universe and many galaxies previously unknown. Fascinating stuff.

Here's a link:

Very Large Array

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

Oldprof · 03-14-2004

I hope the new job comes through Bill. Always enjoy your contributions to the Forum. Good luck!

bmattock · 03-14-2004

Ann-Marie (my wife) took this picture of me while I was thunderstruck by all the technologies, with her Nikon 995. Thought I'd throw it up here for what it's worth - she got great perspective on the dishes, even if she had to mess it up by putting me in it.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

Rich Silfver · 03-14-2004

Cool... Is that the CC you're holding in your hands?

Brian Sweeney · 03-15-2004

Good Luck with the New Job.

East Coast: That will put you closer to the Smithsonian, Kennedy Space Center, and a few of my favorite camera shops like Penn camera here in the DC area. I know it will be a big switch from the wide-open ranges like these, but there is a lot out here that will make up for some of it.

bmattock · 03-15-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by rsilfverberg
Cool... Is that the CC you're holding in your hands?

Richard,

No, that's the CV Bessa with the 90mm A. Schacht attached. The CC is in my left front jacket pocket in this picture. So my wife could say "Is that a Yashica in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

bmattock · 03-15-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by Brian Sweeney
Good Luck with the New Job.

East Coast: That will put you closer to the Smithsonian, Kennedy Space Center, and a few of my favorite camera shops like Penn camera here in the DC area. I know it will be a big switch from the wide-open ranges like these, but there is a lot out here that will make up for some of it.

Brian,

I'll be within striking distance of any of those you mentioned, but I'll be a bit farther south than that. Still, my wife's family is all from Long Island, and we've spent a fair amount of time in Manhattan. I love to visit Adorama and B&H when I'm in town.

We'll be a three-hour Amtrak ride from DC, straight shot north.

I hope to be able to tell you all more in a couple of hours.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks