Magdalena is located west of Socorro on Highway 60 in Socorro County. It got its name from a 16th-century Spanish soldier who thought he saw the face of Mary Magdalene in a rock formation nearby.
Three miles south of Magdalena is the ghost town of Kelly, which still has a small church that holds services once a year. In its mining heyday, Kelly had a population of 3,000 people. At the mine ruins, visitors can collect over 80 varieties of minerals.
The Lady on the Mountain is a rock formation on Magdalena Peak overlooking Magdalena. A Spanish soldier once called it the face of Mary Magdalene, giving the town its name.
At the top of Mount South Baldy in the Magdalena Mountains is Langmuir Lightening Lab, where scientists study thunderclouds, lightning, the atmosphere and cosmic rays. The facility is named for Nobel Laureate Dr Irving Langmuir.
Address: Langmuir Lightening Lab, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology 801 Leroy Place, Magdalena, NM 87801, United States
Phone: 1 (505) 838-5424, Fax: 1 (505) 835-5913
On the San Augustin plains, west of Magdalena, is the Very Large Array (VLA) Radio Telescope, with 27 dish antennas taking radio photographs of the sky. The antennas can be seen on a self guided walking tour.
One of the 27 radio antenna at the Very Large Array telescope in Magdalena.
A pronghorn antelope in front of large radio astronomy dishes of the Very Large Array observatory site.
Address: National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Box O, Socorro, NM 87801-0387, United States
Phone: 1 (505) 835-7243, Fax: 1 (505) 835-7027
Hours:
8:30am-5pm
Tips: At least two weeks notice required to arrange a guided tour.
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Kelly, New Mexico
Very Large Array Radio Telescope, Magdalena
Very Large Array Radio Telescope, Magdalena
