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High on the Chajnantor plateau in the Chilean Andes, the European Southern Observatory (ESO), together with its international partners, is operating the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) – a state-of-the-art telescope to study light from some of the coldest objects in the Universe. This light has wavelengths of around a millimetre, between infrared light and radio waves, and is therefore known as millimetre and submillimetre radiation. ALMA comprises 66 high-precision antennas, spread over distances of up to 16 kilometers (10 miles). This global collaboration is the largest ground-based astronomical project in existence.
Millimetre and submillimetre radiation opens a window into the enigmatic cold Universe, but the signals from space are heavily absorbed by water vapour in the Earth’s atmosphere. Telescopes for this kind of astronomy must be built on high, dry sites, such as the 5,000-meter (17,000-feet) high plateau at Chajnantor, one of the highest astronomical observatory sites on Earth.
The ALMA site, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) east of San Pedro de Atacama in northern Chile, is in one of the driest places on Earth. Astronomers find unsurpassed conditions for observing, but they must operate a frontier observatory under very difficult conditions. Chajnantor is more than 750 meters (2,500 feet) higher than the observatories on Mauna Kea, and 2,400 meters (7,900 feet) higher than the VLT on Cerro Paranal. More…, how does ALMA works? and about the facilities.
Special thanks to David Rabanus, the director Pierre Cox and his assistant Daphne Elliott-Patterson for organizing my 2014 visit.
Please also visit the ESO Ultra HD Expedition blog by my friends Babak Tafreshi and Christoph Malin.
Click on thumbnails for a larger version
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Llano de Chajnantor ALMA Observatory, Chile
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 above sea level in northern Chile. After placing the antennas, the two trucks have the additional task of repositioning them according to the scientists’ requirements.<br>These two powerful beasts are the ultimate in custom vehicles. They were designed specifically for ESO by the German vehicle manufacturer <a href="http://www.scheuerle.de/en/home.html" class="ImageSlide" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Scheuerle Fahrzeugfabrik</a>, who have an impressive history of transporting heavy loads like the Antares rocket and an oil platform weighing in at a staggering 15,000 tonnes!<br>The transporters are identical except for the colour of the safety rails on the vehicle. Otto has red rails and Lore can be identified by a set of green rails. Each individual truck is powered by two diesel engines each with a power output of 700 horsepower, totalling 1,400 horsepower per vehicle. Both trucks can also be controlled remotely, allowing operators a clear view when positioning the antennas with millimetre accuracy.<br>The ALMA transporters are such an integral part of the ALMA facility that they can almost be considered as part of the telescope. Without the two vehicles, the construction, operation, and maintenance of the array would not be possible.', 'en', 1);)
 above sea level in northern Chile. After placing the antennas, the two trucks have the additional task of repositioning them according to the scientists’ requirements.<br>These two powerful beasts are the ultimate in custom vehicles. They were designed specifically for ESO by the German vehicle manufacturer <a href="http://www.scheuerle.de/en/home.html" class="ImageSlide" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Scheuerle Fahrzeugfabrik</a>, who have an impressive history of transporting heavy loads like the Antares rocket and an oil platform weighing in at a staggering 15,000 tonnes!<br>The transporters are identical except for the colour of the safety rails on the vehicle. Otto has red rails and Lore can be identified by a set of green rails. Each individual truck is powered by two diesel engines each with a power output of 700 horsepower, totalling 1,400 horsepower per vehicle. Both trucks can also be controlled remotely, allowing operators a clear view when positioning the antennas with millimetre accuracy.<br>The ALMA transporters are such an integral part of the ALMA facility that they can almost be considered as part of the telescope. Without the two vehicles, the construction, operation, and maintenance of the array would not be possible.', 'en', 1);)
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 and the volcanos at 5,550 meters (18,000 feet).', 'en', 1);)
', 'The Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment (ASTE) is a 10-meter antenna built as a preprototype for ALMA.<br>The ASTE was deployed to its site on Pampa La Bola, near Cerro Chajnantor and the Llano de Chajnantor Observatory. The antenna shows excellent performance including a surface accuracy of 19µm (0.00075 inches) r.m.s.. The telescope is remotely controllable from multiple sites through satellite connections and the Internet. It is operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and the University of Tokyo, Nagoya University, and Osaka Prefecture University, in cooperation with the Universidad de Chile.', 'en', 1);)
', 'A climb of the Purico volcano at 5,300 meters (17,400 feet) was mandatory to take this picture of the ALMA antennas from a distance of about 5 kimometers (2.7 miles).', 'en', 1);)
', 'A climb of the Purico volcano at 5,300 meters (17,400 feet) was mandatory to take this picture of the ALMA antennas from a distance of about 5 kimometers (2.7 miles). 46 of the 66 12-meter antennas are visible', 'en', 1);)
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