I was wondering what the all the sudden inflow of comments from this old video were from!! That’s cool, I tried to get Tom Scott to do a video here years ago and he was too busy.
I live about 25 miles from the Array. I cross the VLA's dual railroad tracks on US 60 every time I go to town (Socorro, NM), though in the 11 years I've lived here I've yet to see the antennas being transported. I have visited the (free) VLA visitor center several times and have twice gone on the "behind the scenes" tour of the on site VLA computer "nerve center" that are offered (free) twice each year - once the first Saturday of April and once the first Saturday of October. Pretty cool stuff.
I once had the privilege of going on a tour inside one of the antennas and up onto the dish. The opening shot with the escort into the barn gives a sense of scale, but nothing prepares you for coming up through the hatch in the center of the dish and having it replace the entire horizon. It was incredible Fun fact: they don't secure the dish on the tractor when they move it, because it's just so heavy it's not like anything can jostle it
Yes it’s pretty amazing coming up through the hatch onto the antenna. This was filmed while I had a 6 month intern at the VLA, and I got a few chances to climb up to the sub-reflector and even go down into the barrel on the sub-reflector which was a pretty surreal experience.
I went out of my way to visit the VLA a few years back and found it very interesting. I was a fan since the days of movies like 2010 and Contact. I wasn't prepared for the thin air as these are located at an elevation of over 7000ft. Every six months or so they move the telescopes for different types of observations. You can see the current configuration details on their website. The local area also has some of the darkest skies in the contiguous US states.
Fascinating stuff, I had just sort of assumed they moved in and out in a sort of star formation, not that they actually have to change tracks and also be bolted down (which makes sense!). I guess hi-viz fluorescent safety gear isn't a thing there!
Who else arrived here via Tom Scott's newsletter?
I was wondering what the all the sudden inflow of comments from this old video were from!! That’s cool, I tried to get Tom Scott to do a video here years ago and he was too busy.
@@SkylerF He did mention that he missed his opportunity in the newsletter. His loss the poor guy. This is great stuff.
Love this. Thank you Tom Scott for putting this in his weekly emails!
I live about 25 miles from the Array. I cross the VLA's dual railroad tracks on US 60 every time I go to town (Socorro, NM), though in the 11 years I've lived here I've yet to see the antennas being transported. I have visited the (free) VLA visitor center several times and have twice gone on the "behind the scenes" tour of the on site VLA computer "nerve center" that are offered (free) twice each year - once the first Saturday of April and once the first Saturday of October. Pretty cool stuff.
Hey message me sometime and I'll give you a heads up when we move next.
That's one hell of a train for antennas!
I once had the privilege of going on a tour inside one of the antennas and up onto the dish. The opening shot with the escort into the barn gives a sense of scale, but nothing prepares you for coming up through the hatch in the center of the dish and having it replace the entire horizon. It was incredible
Fun fact: they don't secure the dish on the tractor when they move it, because it's just so heavy it's not like anything can jostle it
Yes it’s pretty amazing coming up through the hatch onto the antenna. This was filmed while I had a 6 month intern at the VLA, and I got a few chances to climb up to the sub-reflector and even go down into the barrel on the sub-reflector which was a pretty surreal experience.
I Drove through their this week .and the VLA is truly an awesome sight!
I went out of my way to visit the VLA a few years back and found it very interesting. I was a fan since the days of movies like 2010 and Contact. I wasn't prepared for the thin air as these are located at an elevation of over 7000ft. Every six months or so they move the telescopes for different types of observations. You can see the current configuration details on their website. The local area also has some of the darkest skies in the contiguous US states.
Interesting stuff! Thanks for sharing this!
wow never realized the antennas move around, very cool
Fascinating stuff, I had just sort of assumed they moved in and out in a sort of star formation, not that they actually have to change tracks and also be bolted down (which makes sense!).
I guess hi-viz fluorescent safety gear isn't a thing there!
Wow! I wonder who designed and built that transporter? One-of-a-kind
I noticed the bottom of the legs of the antennas have something that looks like a sphere, are those kinematic mounts?
It looks like a 2 track railroad mainline.
So THAT'S how they change rail sets!
ngl I thought it'd be much slower.
Living the dream ....................
73 OM Paul N0AH
Tim Scott sends his regards !
Tom Scott, the very large machinery aficionado, not Tim Scott, the South Carolina Senator.