1 of 9
ALMA Telescope Dish
Credit: Clara Moskowitz/SPACE.com
ALMA, a new radio telescope array, is built high up in the Chilean Atacama desert, at an altitude of 16,400 feet (5,000 meters).
2 of 9
ALMA Telescope Array Grouping
Credit: Clara Moskowitz/SPACE.com
ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, is a grouping of 66 radio antennas that observe in unison to create an image as detailed as if it were made by a single telescope 10 miles (16 kilometers) wide.
3 of 9
ALMA Telescope's Giant Antennas
Credit: Clara Moskowitz/SPACE.com
ALMA's giant white antennas are made of steel and carbon fiber reinforced plastic, enabling them to be strong, yet light enough not to deform under their own weight.
4 of 9
ALMA Operations Support Facility in Chile
Credit: Clara Moskowitz/SPACE.com
ALMA's inauguration was held March 13 at its Operations Support Facility, a site at lower altitude than the telescope antennas, where scientists run the observatory's operations.
5 of 9
ALMA's Site in the Chilean Desert
Credit: Clara Moskowitz/SPACE.com
ALMA's site high in the dry Chilean desert puts it out of reach of much of the moisture of Earth's atmosphere, which blurs light coming in from the heavens.
6 of 9
ALMA 40-Foot-Wide Radio Antenna
Credit: Clara Moskowitz/SPACE.com
The surfaces of ALMA's 40-foot-wide (12 meters) radio antennas must be almost perfect, with no aberrations larger than 25 microns, or about the size of a human hair, across their surfaces.
7 of 9
ALMA's Antennas Are Multi-National
Credit: Clara Moskowitz/SPACE.com
ALMA is a collaboration between North America, Europe and East Asia, with the cooperation of Chile. The three contributing regions each built about a third of ALMA's antennas.
8 of 9
ALMA Observatory Inauguration Sign
Credit: Clara Moskowitz/SPACE.com
The inauguration of the ALMA observatory on March 13, 2013 celebrated the conclusion of 30 years of planning and 10 years of construction.
9 of 9
Three Dishes of ALMA Observatory
Credit: Clara Moskowitz/SPACE.com
The ALMA observatory is described by scientists as the most complex, ambitious telescope project in history.
