Pie Town VLBA Antenna, New Mexico

The Continental Divide crosses Highway 60 at an unnamed and subtle pass a mile and a half east of Pie Town. The Divide passes within a mile of a radio astronomy antenna, one of ten similar antennas that form the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), which is the largest dedicated full-time astronomical instrument in the world. The VLBA is often upstaged by the Very Large Array (VLA), which is another 30 miles east of here. Though the VLA is large, with 27 antennas in a system that is 20 miles across, the VLBA is more than continental in size, with antennas spread across the USA, and from the Virgin Islands to Hawaii. Both the VLA and the VLBA are managed by an operations center in Socorro, New Mexico. Their proximity to the Divide is coincidental.