Editing Very Large Array (section)

==Upgrade and renaming==
In 2011, a decade-long upgrade project resulted in the VLA expanding its technical capacities by factors of up to 8,000. The 1970s-era electronics were replaced with state-of-the-art equipment. To reflect this increased capacity, VLA officials asked for input from both the scientific community and the public in coming up with a new name for the array, and in January 2012 it was announced that the array would be renamed the "[[Karl Guthe Jansky|Karl G. Jansky]] Very Large Array".<ref>{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/mexico-radio-telescope-seeking-14740459 |title=New Mexico Radio Telescope Seeking New Name |work=ABC News |date=October 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016030735/https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/mexico-radio-telescope-seeking-14740459 |archive-date=2011-10-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Jason |last=Palmer |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15307169 |title=Very Large Array telescope in public call for new name |work=BBC News |date=October 15, 2011 |access-date=2015-03-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Dave |last=Finley |url=http://www.nrao.edu/pr/2012/jansky/ |title=Iconic Telescope Renamed to Honor Founder of Radio Astronomy |work=NRAO.edu |publisher=National Radio Astronomy Observatory |access-date=2015-03-24}}</ref> On March 31, 2012, the VLA was officially renamed in a ceremony inside the Antenna Assembly Building.<ref>{{cite web |first=Dave |last=Finley |url=http://www.nrao.edu/pr/2012/rededicate/ |title=Famous Radio Telescope Officially Gets New Name |work=NRAO.edu |publisher=National Radio Astronomy Observatory |access-date=2015-03-24}}</ref>

=== ngVLA upgrade ===
[[File:Image Release the ngVLA Prototype Handover Ceremony.png|thumb|The ngVLA prototype antenna during the handover ceremony, with the older antennae in the background.]]
Upgrade to the Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) will begin in late 2028 and early science operation will begin in mid 2031.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=The ngVLA Science Brochure, updated August, 2023. |url=https://ngvla.nrao.edu/download/MediaFile/412/original |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=ngvla.nrao.edu}}</ref> This upgrade will replace the old antennae with more than 260 new antennae.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2024-12-17 |title=A World-Class Telescope at the Top of Germany |url=https://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/en/news-and-events/news/detail/news/ein-teleskop-der-weltspitze/ |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=www.uni-wuerzburg.de |language=en}}</ref> These will be 18 meter in diameter and have three configurations:<ref name=":1">{{cite arXiv |eprint=2408.14497 |last1=Wilner |first1=David J. |last2=Matthews |first2=Brenda C. |last3=McGuire |first3=Brett |last4=Bergner |first4=Jennifer |last5=Walter |first5=Fabian |last6=Somerville |first6=Rachel |last7=DeCesar |first7=Megan |author8=Alexander van der Horst |last9=Osten |first9=Rachel |last10=Corsi |first10=Alessandra |last11=Baker |first11=Andrew |last12=Bergin |first12=Edwin |last13=Bolatto |first13=Alberto |last14=Blecha |first14=Laura |last15=Bower |first15=Geoff |last16=Burke-Spolaor |first16=Sarah |last17=Carrasco-Gonzalez |first17=Carlos |author18=Katherine de Keller |author19=Imke de Pater |last20=Dickinson |first20=Mark |last21=Drout |first21=Maria |last22=Hallinan |first22=Gregg |last23=Hatsukade |first23=Bunyo |last24=Isella |first24=Andrea |last25=Izumi |first25=Takuma |last26=Johnson |first26=Megan |last27=Lazio |first27=Joseph |last28=Leroy |first28=Adam |last29=Maccarone |first29=Thomas |last30=Mills |first30=Betsy |title=Key Science Goals for the Next Generation Very Large Array (NgVLA): Update from the ngVLA Science Advisory Council (2024) |date=2024 |class=astro-ph.IM |display-authors=1 }}</ref>

* Short baseline array (SBA) is a dense core within about 1&nbsp;km that includes 19 close-packed antennae with 6 meter diameter. It might be combined with four 18 meter antennae. Located in [[New Mexico]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=ngVLA - Array Configuration |url=https://ngvla.nrao.edu/page/array-config |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=ngvla.nrao.edu}}</ref>
* Main Interferometric Array: 214 x 18 meter antennae, reaching a baseline of about 1000&nbsp;km. The antennae will be arranged in a dense core and [[spiral]] arms. Located in New Mexico, west [[Texas]], eastern [[Arizona]], and northern [[Mexico]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
* Long Baseline Array (LBA): An additional 30 antennae with 18 meter diameter of continental scale. Originally stations in [[Hawaii]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], [[California]], [[Iowa]], [[West Virginia]], [[New Hampshire]], [[Puerto Rico]], the [[United States Virgin Islands|US Virgin Islands]], and [[Canada]],<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> but now also includes a station in [[Germany]].<ref name=":0" />

The ngVLA will be ten times more sensitive than the old VLA and ten times more sensitive than ALMA. It will operate at 1.2–116&nbsp;GHz.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ngVLA - about |url=https://ngvla.nrao.edu/page/about |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=ngvla.nrao.edu}}</ref> A prototype antenna was produced by the German company [[mtex antenna technology]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 28, 2023 |title=German tech factory reveals antenna prototype—ngVLA will open a new window into the Universe |url=https://public.nrao.edu/news/ngvla-prototype-debut/ |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=National Radio Astronomy Observatory |language=en-US}}</ref> The prototype was installed at February 6, 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NRAO eNews |url=https://science.nrao.edu/enews/18.2/ |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=science.nrao.edu}}</ref>