ALMA OSF "Low" Site

At 10,000 feet elevation, the world's largest radio telescope is operated. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is located in the Atacama desert, at 16,5000 feet on the Chajnantor mountain. We toured the Operations Facilities today, which are located lower on the mountain, to allow for clear thinking - oxygen deprivation is not good for precise operations!

ACEAP 2015 team at ALMA OSF site.

The 66 radio dishes were constructed at this site by the major partners. The NRAO (National Radio Astronomy Observatory) funded by the National Science Foundation represents the United States, the European Southern Observatory represents European countries, and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan represents East Asian states. Each group built their own radio dishes, so they are very subtly different, but all work together. Our guides mentioned that they really enjoyed the mixing of cultures in the construction phase. Construction was completed in 2013. 

North American antenna under construction. They were built in a huge hanger before being moved up to the main site. Image Credit: NRAO, NAOJ, ESO

Now that construction is complete, the low site is used control the array, and to fix antennae if they have any problems. Astronomers and workers live up here for about a week at a time in dormitories, and then they have a week off. 

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The control room at the OSF site.

Each point represents a bit of data from a pair of antennae.  Because there are 66 dishes, there are over 2150 possible points to collect data from an object! These points are used to make the science images you see below.

Sarah is a data analyst for NRAO. Science is for Girls!

Valeria Foncea gave us a tour. She is the Education and Public Outreach Officer for ALMA.

The clean lab where technicians work on telescope parts.

Two dishes remain at the low site but will be moved up soon. The huge vehicle you see in the front is the transporter that moves the dishes to the high site and around the array. This one's name is Otto.

The scenery is beautiful here as well. After lunch we noticed a volcano venting! 

Can you see the smoke rising from the volcano? It was a long way off - I took this with a zoom lens.

These lights are great - the light shines right where you need it, down! Even though radio dishes could see through light pollution, astronomers are sensitive to the need to keep light pollution down.

When we arrived the UV indicator was at Medium. By lunch it was at Extreme!

Those rays aren't getting to me! (Although I think I have more freckles than when I left Peoria.)

We have learned from astronomers here about the current science being done at ALMA, and about the Education opportunities available. For example:

ALMA detected an Einstein Ring - a gravitationally lensed galaxy. Basically, a very massive galaxy is bending the light of a farther away galaxy all around it into a ring shape. Read more here.

Animation of a Gravitational Lens Creating an Einstein Ring from NRAO Outreach on Vimeo.

Perhaps the most exciting ALMA observation yet - a protoplanetary disks with rings showing planet formation!

A solar system being born! ALMA imaged this protoplanetary disc surrounding the young star HL Tauri. These ALMA observations reveal substructures within the disc that have never been seen before and even show the possible positions of planets forming in the dark patches within the system. Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)

ALMA is truly a unique collaboration between nations, and is revolutionizing astronomy. It allows astronomers to see the very early and obscure Universe. I can't wait to explore the high site tomorrow!