May 14, 2012
Announcement:
Halfway There: 33 Antennas at the ALMA Observing Site
ALMA antennas make an impressive gathering at ALMA's 16,500-foot-elevation observing site. (Click on image for larger file.)
CREDIT: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), J. Guarda (ALMA).
Construction of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) passed a symbolic milestone this week with the arrival of the thirty-third antenna at the array's high-altitude observing site in northern Chile. This marks a halfway point for ALMA, which will have a total of 66 antennas when completed next year.
The giant, 100-ton antennas use sensitive receivers to detect millimeter- and submillimeter-wavelength light from the cosmos.
As ALMA approaches completion, they are coming at an increasing rate from each of ALMA's international regions. North America's ALMA partners, led by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, are providing twenty-five 12-meter dishes, as is Europe. East Asia is furnishing twelve 7-meter dishes and four 12-meter ones.
Astronomers already are making Early Science observations with the partially completed ALMA telescope (see the ALMA News box on this page), studying the building blocks and formation processes of stars, planetary systems, galaxies, and life itself.
ALMA, an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of Europe, North America and East Asia in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA construction and operations are led on behalf of Europe by ESO, on behalf of North America by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), and on behalf of East Asia by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of ALMA.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.
Copyright © 2009 Associated Universities, Inc.