page 91

6/24/03

VLA Notes

of the 10 astrophysic Nobel Prize winners, 6 used radio telescopes

VLA telescopes are as big a a baseball diamond

Large telescopes make resolution better

Interferometry - multiple telescopes combined into one large array

The antennae can be moved into different configurations

VLA has mapped out supernovas, quasars, pulsars, etc.

end of page 91

Journal 6/24/03 #11

Alright - I'm getting close to caught up with my journals - just one more to go after this lol.

So today, we basically took a tour of the VLA - it was a 3 hour drive there. (We were woken up by the Cleaning Lady and then by Scott. Kinda wish we could have slept in, but I wouldn't have missed the VLA for the world!)

They had yogurt on the breakfast table again this time - cool! I had one for breakfast but that wasn't too filling. So while on the way to VLA I was starving. Crazy stuff.

So I'm hungry and wishing I was eating my fill of my mom's cooking when we finally arrive in the VLA! Wow, is all I can say.

(lol Matt was playing with the walkie-talkie with Ellie, who was in the other van with her dad - that was some funny stuff)

The VLA is huge - I didn't realize just how large it is until I was there to see it! In Contact, the radar towers were all close together so maybe that's partly the reason why I thought the place was so huge.

We started in the gift shop where I bought a VLA mug and a VLA t-shirt. I also bought some postcards that I hope to fill out and mail before I leave from Los Alamos - I haven't set aside any time to do that yet and I'm beginning to regret it. I'll probably have to ask Don or Galen or someone to send the postcards.

I took a few notes on the first tour movie - not a lot. It was mostly stuff we already knew about. Robyn, our guide, thought we were really dead today and I don't blame her. The cleaning lady cut into our bedtime lol.

I took a lot of pictures on this trip and had others take a bunch of pictures with me and the other Earthwatchers. I even took a picture of Galen from the side when he was sneaking around trying to take our picture - he does that a lot lol.

That reminds me - I have to get a picture with Steve, Corrie, Don, Galen, John, and Todd one of these days before I leave - they're a group of awesome people and have been so kind and generous to all the Earthwatchers.

Anyway the trip to VLA was definitely worth the drive. We got to see Radio Telescopes up close and personal, check out the control room and the "70's cutting edge technology," and it was the kind of experience that you'd want to tell your children.

We ate dinner at the Va Verde - it is a nice restaurant closeby the VLA. Elle saw the new Harry Potter book in a closed bookstore and started going ballistic - I know so many people at home who would do the same thing if they saw the new Harry Potter book in a close bookstore lol. Corrie agreed to get the book for her, which made her very happy.

I had sauteed scallops this time around - it was very good, but the green beans got kinda lame after awhile, so I didn't finish those. Lol we had such a good time there!

So we went home after that straight to the hotel.

The Earthwatchers all went to Smiths to get candy and we all went to Ge and Matt's room to play cards. We played until 12:00 and then the girls had to leave. The guys all stayed there playing until about 2:30ish and watched TV - you wouldn't believe how horrible late-night programming is! Well, except for the "Street Hoops" thing, but that was the only cool programming.

lol I won so much candy - my candy bag (which was just the 53-cent bad of jelly beans I got) is now overflowing with candy.

That's enough - I'm going to leave that last Journals until later, when I get more sleep. ;)

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