Milky Way from 5000 Meters High

The Milky Way in the morning twilight from altitude of over 5,000 meters on Chajnantor Plateau in the Chilean Andes; the site for the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) with total of 66 giant radio dishes, each 12 or 7 meters in diameter. ALMA will revolutionize exploration of the universe in radio wavelength. ALMA is known as the world’s largest ground-based astronomy project now involving many countries. On the left Venus and the zodiacal light appear above the dishes. The galaxy’s bright central bulge in the Scorpius and Sagittarius is overhead. Venus shines brightly above the antennas. Click on the second photo to see a closer view of the shining galaxy in the Andes sky.