Six satellites all in a row, Very Large Array Magnet

Along the barren New Mexico landscape in-between the two very small towns of Magdalena and Datil on the plains of San Agustin lies the VLA. Even if you have never been here you may think, you have seen parts of the VLA before, a movie perhaps? You would be correct the VLA has been featured in several movies such as 2010; the year we make contact ,Terminator salvation, contact, as well as Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. Are we alone in the universe? For all one knows, the answer to that question is found on the plains of St. Augustin as we line up the satellites and search for transmissions from others. Photo by Ruth Jolly.