The ALMA project, the most important telescope in the study of astrology is located in the north of Chile

proyecto_alma

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) along with its international associates (it is a collaboration between Europe, Japan and North America in cooperation with the Republic of Chile) is building the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) considered the biggest astronomical project existing.


The ALMA project is a telescope to observe the cold Universe: the molecular gas and the dust, as well as the traces of the radiation of the Big Bang. With it, the basic components of the stars will be studied, as well as the planetary systems, galaxies, among others.
This astronomical project is made in the heights of the Llano de Chajnantor, located approximately 50 km to the east of San Pedro de Atacama, in northern Chile, one of the driest places of the Earth.
The telescopes oriented to the study of the cold universe, must be built in high and dry places, such as the Llano de Chajnantor, that is located 5.000 meters high, to obtain the best results, since the astronomers obtain unbeatable observation conditions.
ALMA'S construction will be finished around 2012, but the first scientific observations, with part of the telescopes set, will begin around 2011.
ALMA will be a unique telescope, initially made of 66 antennas of high precision, operating at wavelengths from 0,3 to 9,6 mm. Its main set will have fifty antennas of 12 meters of diameter, acting together as a telescope: an interferometer.
The antennas can be moved across the desert plateau at distances from 150 meters to 16 kilometers, which will provide ALMA a powerful variable zoom and with it, it will have the capacity of investigating the Universe at millimetric and submillimetric wavelengths with a sensibility to have a vision of up to ten times sharper than that of the Spatial Telescope Hubble, which will allow to complement the images obtained by the VLT interferometer.
This means that ALMA will provide to the scientists detailed images of stars and planets being born in gas clouds next to our Solar System, detecting distant galaxies that are forming in the limits of the observable Universe