Green Book

The VLA Green Book

Caution: The VLA Green Book is no longer being maintained and much of the information in it obsolete.
We are keeping it accessible for historical reasons only.

When the VLA Green Book was written in 1978 (!), its original purpose was to serve as an introduction to the VLA for prospective observers, providing an overall view of the VLA and information about the instrument at a level appropriate to those who may not know a great deal about interferometry and aperture synthesis techniques. It has been updated sporadically, and the current version was last updated in 1992. Although much of the information is outdated, there will be information of interest. For current information on the status of the array the reader is referred to the VLA web pages.

The Green Book is available for download in postscript format here.

For reasons unknown two useful and popular plots from the Green Book were not included in the scanned version and are therefore made available here:

Connect with NRAO

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory and Green Bank Observatory are facilities of the U.S. National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

Founded in 1956, the NRAO provides state-of-the-art radio telescope facilities for use by the international scientific community. NRAO telescopes are open to all astronomers regardless of institutional or national affiliation. Observing time on NRAO telescopes is available on a competitive basis to qualified scientists after evaluation of research proposals on the basis of scientific merit, the capability of the instruments to do the work, and the availability of the telescope during the requested time. NRAO also provides both formal and informal programs in education and public outreach for teachers, students, the general public, and the media.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense..."

AUI collaborates with the scientific community and research sponsors to plan, build, and operate cutting-edge facilities. We cultivate excellence, deliver value, enhance education, and engage the public.