The Pole Over ALMA

In this long exposure sequence colorful startrails are captured around the south celestial pole positioned over the radio telescopes of ALMA array. Located at the Chajnantor plateau, at altitude of over 5000 meters in the Chilean Andes, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is considered as one of the most complex astronomical projects of our time. By 2013 it will be completed with 66 antennas, each 12 or 7 meters wide, operating together as a single giant telescope. ALMA is a partnership of Europe, North America and East Asia in cooperation with Chile. The dark site’s rarefied atmosphere, at about 50 percent sea level pressure, is also extremely dry. That makes it ideal for ALMA which is designed to explore the universe at wavelengths over 1,000 times longer than visible light. TWAN visit to ALMA was arranged by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), one of the main partners of ALMA. See this view in timelapse video.