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 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.

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.

ALMA Discoveries

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.



1st

Images of Planet Forming Disc

1st

Images of Super Massive Black Hole

Related News

Scientists Find Elusive Gas From Post-starburst Galaxies Hiding in Plain Sight

This news article was originally published on NRAO.edu on Apr. 25, 2022.Scientists discovered that post-starburst galaxies condense their gas rather than expelling it, begging the question: what’s actually keeping them from forming stars? Post-starburst galaxies were...

Big Astronomy Hosts Live Talk and Q&A with Astronaut Dr. Sian Proctor

On Friday, February 4 at 7:00 pm EST, join astronaut, geoscientist, explorer and space artist Dr. Sian Proctor for a live talk and Q&A hosted by Big Astronomy.

NRAO Director Tony Beasley Honored as Lifetime AAAS Fellow

Tony Beasley, Director of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and AUI Vice President for Radio Astronomy Operations, was today elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Astronomers make first clear detection of a moon-forming disc around an exoplanet

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter /submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner, astronomers have unambiguously detected the presence of a disc around a planet outside our Solar System for the first time.

After Long Shutdown, Giant Radio Telescope Array Set to Resume Observations

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a set of 66 radio astronomy dishes perched high in the Chilean Andes, was hit hard by the pandemic. It shut down on 22 March 2020 and has remained silent ever since—far longer than most scientific facilities....

ALMA Takes First Step Toward Return to Service

Personnel at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile have begun the process of returning the facility to an active observational status, following the shutdown caused by COVID-19 in March of 2020.

ALMA Shows Volcanic Impact on Io’s Atmosphere

New radio images from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) show for the first time the direct effect of volcanic activity on the atmosphere of Jupiter’s moon Io.

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

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), two teams of astronomers have for the first time discovered a planet-forming disk with misaligned rings around a triple star system, called GW Orionis. The astronomers give two possible scenarios for the...

ALMA Discovers Massive Rotating Disk in Early Universe

In our 13.8 billion-year-old universe, most galaxies like our Milky Way form gradually, reaching their large mass relatively late. But a new discovery made with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) of a massive rotating disk galaxy, seen when the...

The Strange Orbits of ‘Tatooine’ Planetary Disks

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have found striking orbital geometries in protoplanetary disks around binary stars. While disks orbiting the most compact binary star systems share very nearly the same plane, disks encircling...