The last thing one would expect to find some 50 miles west of Socorro, a small town in the Rio Grande Valley in south central New Mexico, is a radio astronomical observatory. The Very Large Array (VLA), is situated in the planes of San Augustin, a high altitude (7000ft) sparsely inhabited grassland surrounded by mountain ranges. The VLA is made up of 27 80-foot antennas that can be moved along railway tracks in a Y configuration. Some of the movie Contact was shot there. A stark presence of these mammoth antennas in the middle of nowhere will easily appeal to any photographer. Anyone interested in science and technology should also find a visit very enjoyable.