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."ĪUI collaborates with the scientific community and research sponsors to plan, build, and operate cutting-edge facilities. NRAO also provides both formal and informal programs in education and public outreach for teachers, students, the general public, and the media. 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 telescopes are open to all astronomers regardless of institutional or national affiliation. Operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.įounded in 1956, the NRAO provides state-of-the-art radio telescope facilities for use by the international scientific community. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation by Elise Hu There are no physical signs you've entered the National Radio Quiet Zone, a 13,000-square-mile area that covers the eastern half of West Virginia. If you are on a dirt road you are not on the correct route. In 1958, the Federal Communications Commission established the 13,000-square-mile National Radio Quiet Zone, a one-of-a-kind area encompassing Green Bank. Please note that you may not have cellular or data reception within several miles of the VLA. Use the Google map below to get directions to the VLA Visitor Center. that requires complete radio silence from its surrounding communities. Note: NRAO has offices located in Socorro, NM, and entering “Very Large Array” into direction-finding services may sometimes direct you to this location. There are no physical signs you've entered the National Radio Quiet Zone, a 13,000-square-mile area that covers the eastern half of West Virginia. : The Quiet Zone: Unraveling the Mystery of a Town Suspended in Silence.