An ALMA Telescope Array Time Lapse
Explanation:
It is the most expensive and complex ground-based astronomy project ever -- what
will it see tonight?
The
Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA)
project consists of 66 dishes, many the size of a small house,
situated in the high altitude
Atacama Desert in Northern
Chile.
Together, ALMA observes the skies in
high-frequency radio
light,
a band usually used only for local communication due to considerable absorption by
humid air.
The thin atmosphere and low humidity above
ALMA, however, enable it to see deep into our universe in
new and unique ways
that allow, for example,
explorations of the early
universe
for chemicals involved in star formation, and
observing local star
systems
for signs of disks that form planets.
The above time-lapse video
shows the course of four
ALMA antennas over one night.
The Moon sets early in the video, while three dishes repoint in unison.
Background stars continually rotate up, the
central band of our Milky Way Galaxy
pivots around and eventually exits off to the right, while halfway through the
Small and
Large Magellanic
Clouds -- satellite galaxies near our Milky Way --
rise up from below the horizon.
Car headlights
momentarily illuminate the dishes, while an occasional Earth-orbiting
satellite crosses overhead.
Daylight ends
the video
but not ALMA observations -- which typically run both all night and all day.
Best space images:
Free APOD Lecture in Paris on June 17
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
