With 66 antennas for observing millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths, ALMA has higher precision in its observations compared to other observatories in the world. The images from each antenna are combined with those from the other instruments, which provides higher resolution and therefore unique possibilities for the observation of astronomical phenomena hundreds of light years away.
Its name is actually the acronym of Atacama Large Milimiter/submillimeter Array and its Spanish name would be Gran Conjunto Milimétrico/submilimétrico de Atacama. Located in the middle of the Atacama Desert, specifically in the Chajnantor plain at more than five thousand meters above sea level, it is actually a project carried out thanks to the collaboration of Europe, North America, East Asia and the Republic of Chile.
The main reason for building what is now the world's largest radio telescope in the Chilean desert is that it has unique natural features. The skies of northern Chile are considered one of the best for astronomical observations due to the low light pollution in the desert, in addition to the low probability of clouds covering the northern sky.
In the short period of five years, ALMA has achieved, through its scientific observations:
● Contribute incredible images of protoplanetary disks, such as that of HL Tau, which transformed existing theories of planet formation;
● Finding organic molecules that are the basis for the existence of life, -such as sugars and alcohols-in almost every corner where it has pointed its antennae, bringing us closer to our cosmic origins.
● Obtain spectacular examples of the Einstein ring, an object that had been theorized by the eponymous genius, but rarely observed in such detail;
● Cooperate with space exploration, as happened with NASA's New Horizons space probe, by locating distant Pluto with unprecedented precision and thus bringing the spacecraft closer to its target.
This is only the beginning and it is expected that in the coming years ALMA will continue to increase the tools available to study the Universe and remain a world reference for space observation.
Free visits to the Operations Support Center are possible and should be coordinated through the same institution at http://www.almaobservatory.org/es/visitas/visitas-publicas.