The unusually named National Radio Astronomy Observatory VLA (Very Large Array), 46 miles West of Socorro, New Mexico, is a series of 27 giant parabolic dish antennas, each weighing 235 tons. They search deep space for faint radio signals emitted by celestial objects. Aimed together, they form a grid that can see an area equal to what an optical telescope with a lens 20 miles in diameter. View with rainbow.