A proposed new antenna array being developed will be massive, consisting of 244 antennas and stretching more than 8,045 kilometers, or 5 thousand miles. Tests of its prototype recently attracted attention for another reason: the new next-generation Very Large Array radio antenna gathered signals for the first time - a key moment for a design that is expected to provide higher sensitivity and spatial resolution than the current system. Working alongside the 27 antennas of the VLA, it tracked the Crab Nebula and the sun and it observed the bright galactic nucleus known as Perseus A.
The National Science Foundation's National Radio Astronomy Observatory sees promise in its ability to go beyond the capacity of the current Very Large Array. The test in the New Mexico desert was conducted in collaboration with the current VLA, which was built starting in the 1970s. Its encouraging results mark the prototype system's transition from being a project under construction to a tool capable of making independent observations and conducting astronomical testing. It is expected to form the basis for the eventual 244-antenna array.
