Seen “Contact”, the movie? Array of dishes spread out on a plain that gathers much more information than a single small dish. Same principal, although the “small” single collection “dishes” are on different continents, and their information is combined into a whole.
The VLA out in the plains of San Agustin in New Mexico. Beautiful area! I used to hunt around the town of Datil just west of there, and in the mountains to the north.