As part of a training event, the U.S. Army’s C Company, 3rd Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, First ArmoredDivision, based at Fort Bliss, Texas, made a stop at the Karl Jansky Very Large Array on February 20. Arriving in five UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, they landed and met NRAO staffers for a guided tour of the radio telescope facility. The Army personnel learned about the scientific work and the technology of the VLA, and in turn answered many questions from NRAO personnel about their aircraft and their experiences in serving our nation. The training exercise was the last flight for their company commander, Capt. Chloe Flores, before her retirement from active duty. Following the tour, the aviators provided an impressive show as the five powerful helicopters lifted off and departed the VLA site.
Army Aviators Drop in for Tour of VLA
In Other News…
VIDEO: Multi-wavelength Observations Reveal Impact of Black Hole on M87 Galaxy
In 2019, a worldwide collaboration of scientists used a global collection of radio telescopes called the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) to make the first-ever image of a black hole — the supermassive black hole at the core of the galaxy M87, some 55 million light-years from Earth.
ACEAP Alumna Selected as Astronaut for SpaceX
Sian Procter, a participant in the Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program (ACEAP) in 2016, has been selected as an astronaut by SpaceX. The Inspiration4 mission, scheduled to launch sometime after 15 September 2021, will orbit Earth for three days and conduct a variety of experiments.
New Images Reveal Magnetic Structures Near Supermassive Black Hole
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) — the worldwide collaboration that produced the first image of a black hole in 2019 — has produced a new image showing details of the magnetic fields in the region closest to the supermassive black hole at the core of the galaxy M87. The new work is providing astronomers with important clues about how powerful jets of material can be produced in that region.
After Long Shutdown, Giant Radio Telescope Array Set to Resume Observations
VLA Helps Astronomers Make New Discoveries About Star-Shredding Events
New studies using the VLA and other telescopes have added to our knowledge of what happens when a black hole shreds a star, but also have raised new questions that astronomers must tackle.
Radio Telescope is So Powerful it Can See the Surface of Other Worlds
Get ready for close-up surface images of distant planets in our solar system.
Next Generation VLA Endorsed by Canadian Panel
The Canadian Astronomy Long Range Plan 2020-2030, a report on priorities and recommendations for Canadian astronomy over the next decade, has recommended that Canada support the National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s (NRAO) proposed Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA), saying the new facility will enable transformational science across many areas of astrophysics.
The ITL Expects to Create 35 Businesses Between the Third and Tenth Year of Operation
The former Minister of Energy, Ricardo Raineri, who also has a long career as a professor and university researcher and international consultant, was appointed by the American consortium Associated Universities Inc. (AUI) as Director of Development and responsible for executing the installation stage from the Institute of Clean Technologies (ITL).
This Insane Picture of The Moon Was Actually Taken From Earth
A test of a powerful new space imaging instrument has given us a gloriously detailed new perspective of the Apollo 15 Moon landing site.
Successful Test Paves Way for New Planetary Radar
The National Science Foundation’s Green Bank Observatory (GBO) and National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), and Raytheon Intelligence & Space conducted a test in November to prove that a new radio telescope system can capture high-resolution images in near-Earth space.