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St. Croix, The Virgin Islands
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The easternmost antenna of the Very Long Baseline Array is located on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The baseline between St. Croix and the westernmost antenna in Hawaii is nearly 5,000 miles, thus producing an image as though the array were a single antenna with a diameter nearly the diameter of the earth.
The St. Croix antenna is unique for several reasons. The heaters
on the feed horns were removed because they weren't necessary in the
tropical climate. The Site Technicians and maintenance and repair
teams must deal with corrosion of parts caused by the sea air. The
dish must be painted more often than the others. It is also
threatened by hurricanes with some regularity.
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| Of course, there is much more to
St. Croix than the NRAO antenna! To find out about St. Croix's
historic and architectural treasures, see this link to the St. Croix, Virgin
Isles, homepage.
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Modified on
Tuesday, 29-Nov-2016 16:26:58 MST
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National Radio
