Driving Directions to the Array Operations Center

It should be noted that the Array Operations Center has no tourist facilities; these directions are provided as a courtesy to visiting scientists and those arriving for official buisness.

From Albuquerque International Airport to Socorro

The Array Operations Center is located in Socorro, New Mexico, about seventy five miles South of the nearest large airport in Albuquerque. The trip from Albuquerque Airport to Socorro takes just over an hour by car.

  1. Leave airport on Sunport Blvd. -- stay to your left on the exiting lane of the parking lot; you will then be heading West. Sunport Blvd. isn't on the Web map, but there are obvious signs posted at the airport.
  2. Cross over the bridge and turn left at the stop sign -- this will put you on I-25 going South.
or
  1. Leave airport on Yale Blvd, which will get you heading north (you have no choice on this).
  2. The second stoplight on Yale will be Gibson Blvd. Turn left (West).
  3. After a few blocks, you'll see I-25. Take it going South (a left turn).

When you see the exit for Socorro (exit 150), take it. This will put you on California Avenue, the main street in town, going South.

From Las Cruces to Socorro

The Array Operations Center is about one hundred and fifty miles North of Las Cruces, New Mexico. The trip by car takes just over two hours.

  1. Take I-25 north from Las Cruces, and take either the first (exit 147) or second (exit 150) exit for Socorro. Exit 147 will put you on California Avenue, the main street in town, going North; exit 150 will put you on California Avenue going South.

Finding the AOC in Socorro

  1. Make your way to Bullock Road:

    1. If you are coming from the North (Albuquerque):

      • Exit 150 from I-25 drops you on the main street, California Avenue.
      • Continue on California (South) until you reach Bullock. This will be the second stoplight. Bullock is just past the Taco Bell and just before the Kentucky Fried Chicken; if you pass Subway, Denny's, or Pizza Hut, you've gone too far. Take a right (west) on Bullock.

    2. If you are coming from the South (Las Cruces):

      • Exit 147 from I-25 drops you on the main street, California Avenue, heading North.
      • Continue on California (North) until you reach Bullock (currently the fifth stoplight). Bullock is just past the Kentucky Fried Chicken and just before the Taco Bell; if you pass McDonald's, you've gone too far. Take a left (West) on Bullock.

  2. Heading West on Bullock, you will stop at two stop signs. After the second, you will see the campus of New Mexico Tech on your left.

    1. Before 10:30 pm:

      • Go straight on. After another block, the road will curve to the left. As it does so you will see a sign on your right saying National Radio Astronomy Observatory and/or Array Operations Center. Turn into that parking lot -- it will be the first possible turn during the curve, on your right -- and park anywhere. Walk north to the AOC.

    2. After 10:30 pm:

      • After 10:30pm various barricades go down and block the simple route outlined above. So instead, turn left at the second stop sign on Bullock, just before the Tech campus. Continue (South) along this road, passing New Mexico Tech and the soccer field on your right; then turn right (West) at the second stop sign (Neel Street). Neel Street circles around the NMT campus from the other side, and changes names, becoming Olive Lane at the first stop sign (you bear left). Continue along this road past another stop sign, and turn into the second parking lot on your left. Directly ahead you will see Macey Center, the NM Tech music center; to your right, through the parking lot, is the AOC. You can park anywhere, but you might as well park as close to the AOC as possible -- this parking lot serves both Macey Center and the AOC.

  3. During business hours, check in with the receptionist at the front desk; otherwise, use the phone outside the front door to call the VLBA correlator operator at 835-7252, and (s)he'll let you in.

  4. Once you're inside, check your mailbox for a packet containing various instructions, a card-key to the building, and possibly a key to your room if you're staying at the guest house. The mailboxes are located behind the big staircase that confronts you when you enter; visitors' mailboxes are on the far right.
Back