“We are waitingo increase the bandwidth of the telescope systems by four ideally, which means we could double our imaging capacityand the type of images we saw last week would be more delicate and denseand therefore in greater detail“, said the director of ALMA and Canadian astrophysicist, Sean Dougherty.
After being closed for six months during the pandemic, ALMA resumed its activities to once again observe the sky and resume astronomical projects developed at an international level. While, nit needs to double its sensitivity when it comes to recreating the images taken by its 66 antennas (54 of 12 meters in diameter and 12 of seven meters in diameter), whose signals are combined with each other to act as a mega telescope.
“ALMA is unique in that it is a very large and sensitive telescope. We can move our antennas as close as ten meters and as far as 16 km. That gives us the ability to look at a wide range of resolutions, and that means detailDougherty said.
In addition to the technical capacity of its antennas – built jointly by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the United States National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences of Japan (NINS) – the observatory is located in an unique place.
“Being in Chile, in the highlands at 5,000 meters (above sea level), places us above most of the water in the atmosphere. In addition, the Atacama desert is one of the driest places in the world. It is so ALMA is by far the most outstanding millimeter installation“, highlighted the director of the project.
The white antennas stand out in the height of the Cordillera de los Andesin the middle of a Martian landscape of orange and ocher colors that contrast with the clean blue skyone of the clearest in the world for astronomical observation, added AFP.
The Atacama desert, the driest in the world According to experts, it helps avoid distortions generated by humidity in the atmosphereas explained Francis Gonzalezmaintenance supervisor of the antennas, which wait until 2023, ten years after their installation, for a exceptional individual review.
For greater observation capacity, the 66 antennas are over 5,000 meters high nearly 200 locationsfor which they are moving in a huge 100-ton 28-wheel transporter depending on the needs of each global study that requests the use of ALMA, where 22 countries work together.
“You realize you are leaving a legacy for future generations for the fact of working here. I am one more of the small gears that move all this beautiful machinery of ALMA”, said the operator of the transporter, Patrick Saavedra45, after relocating one of the large antennas, AFP concluded.
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
