Very Small Array

<p>The Very Small Array (VSA) was a 14-element <a href="/facts/Interferometer/X3E1SsQT">interferometric</a> radio telescope operating between 26 and 36 GHz that is used to study the <a href="/facts/Cosmic_microwave_background_radiation/ThB2HkLS">cosmic microwave background radiation</a>. It was a collaboration between the <a href="/facts/University_of_Cambridge/0la7aX9o">University of Cambridge</a>, <a href="/facts/University_of_Manchester/PwJzEj8h">University of Manchester</a> and the <a href="/facts/Instituto_de_Astrofisica_de_Canarias/9mWBEdka">Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias</a> (<a href="/facts/Tenerife/FlyhXV7M">Tenerife</a>), and was located at the <a href="/facts/Observatorio_del_Teide/HpcLFSDF">Observatorio del Teide</a> on <a href="/facts/Tenerife/FlyhXV7M">Tenerife</a>. The array was built at the <a href="/facts/Mullard_Radio_Astronomy_Observatory/IpjeosA0">Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory</a> by the <a href="/facts/Cavendish_Astrophysics_Group/XfrjGRqv">Cavendish Astrophysics Group</a> and <a href="/facts/Jodrell_Bank_Observatory/gfKbHgwr">Jodrell Bank Observatory</a>, and was funded by <a href="/facts/PPARC/REbgC1vl">PPARC</a> (now <a href="/facts/Science_and_Technology_Facilities_Council/kV0mrV2t">STFC</a>). The design was strongly based on the <a href="/facts/Cosmic_Anisotropy_Telescope/GJ7josQ4">Cosmic Anisotropy Telescope</a>.
</p><p>The telescope was comparable in terms of capabilities to several other CMB experiments, including the balloon-based <a href="/facts/BOOMERanG/ADxS37zv">BOOMERanG</a> and <a href="/facts/Millimeter_Anisotropy_eXperiment_IMaging_Array/uMojm1TV">MAXIMA</a>, and the ground-based <a href="/facts/Degree_Angular_Scale_Interferometer/PkcJk5BQ">DASI</a> and <a href="/facts/Cosmic_Background_Imager/SkPt39aF">CBI</a>.
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Very Small Array open-in-new

Very Small Array