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Very Long Baseline Array

Observatory in Mauna Kea Forest Reserve on Big Island (Hawai‘ian Islands) near Honoka’a, HI

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The Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) is a system of ten radio telescopes which are operated remotely from their Array Operations Center located in Socorro, New Mexico, as a part of the Long Baseline Observatory (LBO). These ten radio antennas work together as an array that forms the longest system in the world that uses very long baseline interferometry. The longest baseline available in this interferometer is about 8,611 kilometres (5,351 mi). The construction of the VLBA began in February 1986 and it was completed in May 1993. The first astrometrical observation using all ten antennas was carried out on May 29, 1993. The total cost of building the VLBA was about $85 million. Each receiver in the VLBA consists of a parabolic dish antenna 25 meters (82 feet) in diameter, along with its…