Editing Very Large Array (section)

== Tourism ==
[[File:Bracewell Sundial.jpg|thumb|The Bracewell Radio Sundial on the VLA walking tour, seen from the south. Named for [[Ronald N. Bracewell]], this sundial marks on the ground positions of the shadow of the central sphere (the [[gnomon]]) at different times of day and times of year. The shadow on Dec 22, 2017 falls very near the [[winter solstice]] line and the 1:00 PM (solar time) mark. The other two lines of markers north of the gnomon are for the [[equinox]]es and the [[summer solstice]]. Additional lines of markers south of the gnomon mark positions of "shadows" of the radio sources [[Cygnus A]] and [[Cassiopeia A]]. The posts at the back of the sundial were recovered from Bracewell's radio telescope array at [[Stanford University]], abandoned in 1980, where they had been signed by visitors with chisels at his invitation.]]

The VLA is located between the towns of [[Magdalena, New Mexico|Magdalena]] and [[Datil, New Mexico|Datil]], about {{convert|50|mi}} west of [[Socorro, New Mexico]]. [[U.S. Route 60 in New Mexico|U.S. Route 60]] passes east–west through the complex.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Visit the Very Large Array |url=https://public.nrao.edu/visit/very-large-array/ |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=National Radio Astronomy Observatory |language=en-US}}</ref>

The VLA site is open to visitors with paid admission.<ref name="visit" /> A visitor center houses a small museum, theater, and a gift shop. A self-guided walking tour is available, as the visitor center is not staffed continuously. Visitors unfamiliar with the area are warned that there is little food on site, or in the sparsely populated surroundings; those unfamiliar with the high desert are warned that the weather is quite variable, and can remain cold into April.<ref name="visit"/> For those who cannot travel to the site, the NRAO created a virtual tour of the VLA called the ''VLA Explorer''.<ref>{{cite web|title=The VLA Explorer|url=https://public.nrao.edu/special-features/vla-explorer/|website=National Radio Astronomy Observatory|access-date=30 September 2017}}</ref>

The VLA site was previously closed to visitors from March 2020 through October 2022.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://public.nrao.edu/news/covid19/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003233549/https://public.nrao.edu/news/covid19/ |archive-date=2020-10-03 
|title=Latest Updates on COVID-19 Measures from NRAO, ALMA, GBO - National Radio Astronomy Observatory
|work=National Radio Astronomy Observatory |date=2020-03-13
|access-date=2020-10-03
|quote=All our facilities are CLOSED to the public!}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=https://public.nrao.edu/news/covid19/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008174018/https://public.nrao.edu/news/covid19/ |archive-date=2022-10-08 
|title=Latest Updates on COVID-19 Measures from NRAO, ALMA, GBO - National Radio Astronomy Observatory
|work=National Radio Astronomy Observatory |date=2022-09-28
|access-date=2022-10-03}}</ref>

{{Panorama
|image   = File:VLA pano.jpg
|height  = 200
|caption = The cross rail track structure of the VLA, including an empty antenna mount station on the right (the three concrete piers that the antenna's triangular base mounts to)
}}