ALMA: Atacama Large Millimeter Submillimeter Array

Focused on exploring the darkest, coldest, most distant, regions of space to develop a deeper understanding of the origins of our universe.

The purpose of ALMA is to study star formation, molecular clouds and the early Universe.

AUI proposed the creation of ALMA.

And led efforts in the design, construction, management, and operation of the resulting facilities. AUI maintains offices in Chile and US dedicated to our continued support and management.

The Atacama Large Millimeter Submillimeter Array (ALMA) is a forefront astronomy facility in northern Chile. ALMA is at an altitude of 5,050 meters and consists of an 11-mile-wide interferometric imaging array of 54, 12-meter dish antennas and a compact array of 12, 7-meter antennas.

ALMA began early science operations in September 2011 and has led to several important discoveries including the first detailed images of a planet forming disc around the young star HL Tau.

ALMA also played a significant role through the Event Horizon Telescope Project on the creation of the first images of a supermassive black hole and its shadow. ALMA explores the Universe in millimeter and submillimeter-wavelengths with unprecedented sensitivity, resolution, and imaging capability. In cooperation with the Republic of Chile, ALMA is a major international partnership of North America, Europe, and East Asia.

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1st

Images of Planet Forming Disc

1st

Images of Super Massive Black Hole

Related News

ALMA Discovers Misaligned Rings in Planet-Forming Disk Around Triple Stars

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ALMA Discovers Massive Rotating Disk in Early Universe

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The Strange Orbits of ‘Tatooine’ Planetary Disks

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ALMA Spots Most Distant Dusty Galaxy Hidden in Plain Sight

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have spotted the light of a massive galaxy seen only 970 million years after the Big Bang. This galaxy, called MAMBO-9, is the most distant dusty star-forming galaxy that has ever been observed...

Gas ‘Waterfalls’ Reveal Infant Planets around Young Star

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Going Against the Flow Around a Supermassive Black Hole

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New NSF Support Agreement for Next Generation Very Large Array

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded an additional $4M to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) to fund the design and development of the next generation Very Large Array (ngVLA). With this funding...

Image Release: ALMA Shows What’s Inside Jupiter’s Storms

Swirling clouds, big colorful belts, giant storms — the beautiful and turbulent atmosphere of Jupiter has been showcased many times. But what is going on below the clouds? What is causing the many storms and eruptions that we see on the ‘surface’ of the planet? To see...

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