View source for Long Wavelength Array

{{Short description|Radio telescope in central New Mexico}}
{{Infobox telescope}}
The '''Long Wavelength Array''' ('''LWA''') is a [[radio telescope]] in central [[New Mexico]]. It began preliminary tests of the hardware in 2011, and began regular operations in late 2015. <ref>{{cite web|title=ScienceCasts:Listening to the Stars|url=https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/sciencecasts/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520223711/http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/sciencecasts/|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 May 2011|website=NASA Science|publisher=NASA|accessdate=18 February 2016}}</ref> It is one of the few observatories to utilize relatively low frequencies (10-88&nbsp;MHz), and is used to study [[relativistic particle]]s, [[cosmic evolution]], [[astrophysical plasma]], [[decametric radio emissions]] from [[Jupiter]]-like [[extrasolar planet]]s, and [[solar flare|giant flares]] from [[magnetar]]s.<ref>{{Citation
 | last = Ellingson | first = Steven
 | year = 2009
 | title = The Long Wavelength Array
 | journal = [[Proceedings of the IEEE]]
 | volume = 97 | issue = 8 | pages = 1421–1430
 | url = http://www.ece.vt.edu/swe/mypubs/PIEEE_LWA.pdf
 | bibcode = 2009IEEEP..97.1421E
 | doi = 10.1109/JPROC.2009.2015683
| s2cid = 8999112
 }}</ref>

{{asof|2011}} it consisted of a single station with 256 antennas. The longer term objective of the project is to build 53 stations in total,{{when|date=August 2019}} with a total of 13,000 [[dipole antenna]]s<ref name="TheDailyGalaxy">{{cite web |title=JPL Searching for Galactic Flashes: "Exploding Black Holes or Transmissions by Other Civilizations?" |url=http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2011/05/jpl-searching-for-galactic-flashes-exploding-black-holes-or-transmissions-by-other-civilizations.html |publisher=The Daily Galaxy |accessdate=2011-05-04 |date=2011-05-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507022247/http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2011/05/jpl-searching-for-galactic-flashes-exploding-black-holes-or-transmissions-by-other-civilizations.html |archive-date=2011-05-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> strategically placed in an area nearly {{convert|400|km|miles}} in diameter, to scan the sky at [[High frequency|HF]] and [[Very high frequency|VHF]] frequencies. Each antenna stands about {{convert|1.5|m|ft|0}} high and about {{convert|2.7|m|ft|0}} across the base.<ref>{{cite web |last=Vega|first=Priscilla |title=An Astronomer's Field of Dreams |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-027 |publisher=JPL |accessdate=2011-05-04 |date=2011-01-26}}</ref> The first station, located adjacent to the NRAO's VLA, consists of 256&nbsp;antennas and was completed in December 2009.  It was dedicated in April 2010, and routine operations began in 2011.<ref name="TheDailyGalaxy" /> The second station (LWA2) was under construction about {{convert|19|km|abbr=on}} away {{asof|2011|lc=y}}.<ref>
{{cite web
 |url= http://lwa.phys.unm.edu/news.html
 |title= Current News
 |date= June 3, 2011
 |publisher= [[University of New Mexico]]
 |accessdate= 16 June 2011
}}</ref>{{update after|2019|8|26}}

The project is a collaboration of [[University of New Mexico|UNM]], [[Virginia Tech|VT]], [[Los Alamos National Laboratory|LANL]], [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory|JPL]], [[Naval Research Laboratory|NRL]], [[University of Iowa|UI]], [[Bruny Island Radio Spectrometer|BIRS]], [[National Radio Astronomy Observatory|NRAO]] and [[Air Force Research Laboratory|AFRL]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Welcome to the LWA! |url=http://lwa.phys.unm.edu/ |publisher= UNM |accessdate=2011-06-16}}</ref>{{clarify|source of funds? private foundation? philanthropic? government funding through NSF?  ???|date=August 2019}}

== See also ==
* [[Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder]] 
* [[List of astronomical observatories]]
* [[Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR)|LOFAR]]
* [[MeerKAT]]
* [[Murchison Widefield Array]]
* [[Square Kilometre Array]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Portal bar|Astronomy|Stars|Spaceflight|Outer space|Solar System|Education|Science}}
[[Category:Radio telescopes]]
[[Category:Astronomical observatories in New Mexico]]
[[Category:Interferometric telescopes]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Socorro County, New Mexico]]
[[Category:2011 establishments in New Mexico]]