New Mexico’s Starry Nights
New Mexico’s Starry Nights
One of our favorite things about New Mexico is stargazing. New Mexico offers a near perfect environment for “Starry Nights”! With limited pollution, wide open spaces, and low populations, New Mexico is rated in the Top 10 places for stargazing in the entire WORLD!
New Mexico is home to many observatories and the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). The VLA, is one of the world’s premier astronomical radio observatories, that consists of 27 radio antennas in a Y-pattern. Each large antenna (25 meters in diameter) collects electromagnetic radiation that cannot be seen by the human eye, such as radio waves. Astronomers have used the VLA to make key observations on black holes, protoplanetary disks around young stars, discovered magnetic filaments and traced complex gas motions at the Milky Way’s center probed cosmological parameters, and provided new data about the physical mechanisms that produce radio emissions.
With New Mexico’s low population, our Starry Nights benefit from a relatively low pollution levels and low light pollution levels. Set alongside our numerous mountain ranges that also help with light pollution and high elevations make for a perfect formula for dark skies!
Here’s some beautiful images of New Mexico’s Starry Nights!
