I’m sure what I can say about this, except that it’s oddly engaging.
I’ve been to VLA*, many years ago to do a video for an educational activity, and I don’t recall seeing them behave quite this way. Maybe I should’ve waited until night time.
Tip o’ the side lobe to my pal and science nerd Jeri Ryan on Google+.
* Yes, I know the name was recently changed to the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, but I’ll be honest: I don’t like the new name. If they had just called it the Jansky Array that’d be fine. But if the old name was clunky, it had an easy acronym. Now the name is longer and the acronym harder! So to me, it’ll always be the VLA. And get off my lawn.
January 30th, 2012 at 10:48 am
Check it out at about the 2:00 mark.
So those anomalous signals aren’t from ETs, they are caused by birds sitting (and doing other bird-like things) on the dish
January 30th, 2012 at 11:16 am
MOH PLEASE!
January 30th, 2012 at 11:40 am
Ehm. I am still trying to figure out how I should describe this movie. Weird. And creepy. Sort of strange.
I am so with you on this point!
January 30th, 2012 at 12:16 pm
The name I like is ALMA: I’m still trying to figure out where those large millimetres came from.
January 30th, 2012 at 1:00 pm
There is just a big white space with no link to the video. Is this only viewable from the USA. I’m in the UK
January 30th, 2012 at 1:10 pm
4:
Because large millmeters = centimeter and ACA wasn’t a good acronym.
I’m sure you know that the Large modifies array and not millimeter in that acronym, but AMLA didn’t sound as good.
January 30th, 2012 at 1:40 pm
You and Jeri Ryan pals? I ENVY YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 30th, 2012 at 2:42 pm
@ Chris S
It’s quite visible from Germany (where normally most things are blocked). Do you lack some plug-ins in your browser?
January 30th, 2012 at 4:21 pm
Chris S: It’s clearly viewable from Norway!
January 30th, 2012 at 6:47 pm
Very good. Artistic Creativity in alliance with Science. We need more!
January 30th, 2012 at 6:49 pm
@5 ChrisS
UK here Chris, it’s coming through loud and clear for me.
January 31st, 2012 at 6:25 am
Regarding the footnote, it has become fairly common around here to name things after people using their full name. I agree with the BA that this often results in clunky names nobody wants to use.
There is a fairly new street nearby called the “Thomas J. Rhodes Industrial Drive.” And yes, they managed to fit all that on the sign.
January 31st, 2012 at 8:38 am
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January 31st, 2012 at 11:33 am
Such an iconic instrument deserves a better paint job.
January 31st, 2012 at 8:19 pm
I like how the birds are labeled, too. Like they’re part of the instrument.
“And here’s the polarized feed horn, and over there you can see the azimuth motors. And up there we’ve got a couple Corvus brachyrhynchoses. Couldn’t have a working radio telescope array without ‘em!”
February 1st, 2012 at 7:49 am
The BA said:
What is different about radio astronomy at night?
February 1st, 2012 at 9:38 am
The answer to the question “What is different about radio astronomy at night?” is as follows: “It be dark”.
“oddly engaging” ? My God, this is only BRILLIANT. I saw the pair at 2:05, but when it was slipped-in earlier I shouted “HA!”, and started looking even MORE closely at the labels of WHATEVER was being labelled ! Conceptually and visually BRILLIANT. I’m going to watch it again and again and see if I can actually LEARN from this brilliant, beautiful piece.
Thanks for posting.
February 3rd, 2012 at 9:50 pm
“I’ve been to VLA*, many years ago to do a video for an educational activity, and I don’t recall seeing them behave quite this way. Maybe I should’ve waited until night time.”
I think if I visited the VLA at night while listening to Autechre on heavy psycedelic drugs this is exactly what I would be seeing.
March 20th, 2012 at 12:40 pm
Was that supposed to be “I’m not sure what I can say…”?