A VERY LARGE TELESCOPE
In order to make a clearer, or higher resolution, radio image, radio astronomers often combine several smaller telescopes, or receiving dishes, into an array. Together, these dishes can act as one large telescope whose resolution is set by the maximum size of the area. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope in New Mexico is one of the world's premier astronomical radio observatories. The VLA consists of 27 antennas arranged in a huge "Y" pattern up to 36 km across (roughly one-and-one-half times the size of Washington, DC).
The techniques used in radio astronomy at long wavelengths can sometimes be applied at the shorter end of the radio spectrum—the microwave portion. The VLA image below captured 21-centimeter energy emissions around a black hole in the lower right and magnetic field lines pulling gas around in the upper left.