Scientists' ability to observe the universe improved recently as the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array, a planned group of 66 antennas which simulates one large telescope, began operation Sept. 30. Europe, North America and East Asia are collaborating with the Republic of Chile in their investigation of star and galaxy formation through the telescope. Sixteen of the planned antennas have been installed thus far.
The array is located in the Atacama Desert in Chile because of its high elevation of 5,000 meters and dry conditions, which prevent water vapor from obstructing the telescope network's view. The array itself is composed of 66 antennas, but the number of operational antennas changes day to day because of maintenance issues.
Ideally, the antennas, which each measure about 12 meters across, should be able to simultaneously capture the same region of data and translate the data into a digital format. The data comes in the form of radio wavelengths, which can be made to transmit information by changing a combination of the amplitude, frequency and phase of the wave within a frequency band. Through this technique, scientists are able to identify and distinguish atoms and molecules in space. How far apart and how many antennas are operational at a given time are variables for accuracy of data.
However, "[ALMA] is not as accurate in terms of the amount of light and therefore how faint the things are that you can see because it doesn't have all that collecting area," said Carol Lonsdale, former director of the North American ALMA Science Center and University astronomy instructor. "In spite of that, it's still the biggest sort of this telescope that's ever been built because of the total amount of reflecting area that we have."
The significance
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