Source: www.eso.org
Science@ESA Podcast 17: Constructing ALMA - The World's Largest Observatory
[Narrator]
1. High on the Chajnantor plateau in the Chilean Andes, the first antennas of the Atacama Large Millimeter/ submillimeter Array, or ALMA for short, move in unison.
Work progresses at a frantic pace in this ambitious project, which, in a few years from now, will consist of 66 antennas, working together at an altitude of 5000 metres. Once completed, ALMA will enable astronomers to study the cold Universe in unprecedented detail.
00:34
2.This is the ESOcast! Cutting-edge science and life behind the scenes of ESO, the European Southern Observatory. Exploring the ultimate frontier with our host Dr J, a.k.a. Dr Joe Liske.
00:56
[Dr J]
3. Hello and welcome to another episode of the ESOcast.
In this episode we are going to visit the ALMA observatory in the Atacama Desert in Chile. Here, ESO, together with its international partners, is building what will become the world´s largest astronomical facility.
ALMA will observe the Universe in millimetre and submillimetre wavelengths. This will allow astronomers to study both very cold objects as well as very distant objects in the early Universe. And because such observations are disturbed by water vapour in the atmosphere, ALMA's being built on one of the driest places on Earth, the Chajnantor plateau at an altitude of 5000 metres, which also makes it one of the highest astronomy sites in the world.
ALMA will be operated at two distinct sites: First, there's the Array Operations Site up on the plateau where the antenna are actually located and then further down there's the Operations Support Facility.
01:51
[Narrator]
4. Constructing the ALMA observatory in the arid Atacama desert and at such high altitude is no easy undertaking. Before the antennas are brought to the high site they must be assembled at the Operations Support Facility or OSF.
Located at 2900 metres altitude, the OSF also serves as the control centre for the antenna array, which is located at the high site.
With majestic volcanoes looming in the distance, engineers are busy integrating and verifying the various parts of the antennas and by now, many antennas at various assembly stages can be found at the OSF. Each new antenna must meet very strict requirements. The surface of each dish is accurate to much less than the thickness of a sheet of paper, and the antennas can be pointed precisely enough to pick out a golf ball at a distance of 15 km.
OSF footage
02:50
[Dr J]
5. In many ways the OSF has become the heart of the ALMA project. This is where the staff lives during their shifts and where much of the daily routine is going on. There are lots of meetings between various groups of scientists and engineers and there are even scientific conferences that are being held at this remote location. The OSF also houses the two transporters that are used to move the antennas. So with the scientists and engineers assembling and testing the antennas and conducting the operations at the high site, the OSF has become a rather busy and vibrant place.
03:21
[Narrator]
6. Scientists and engineers test the ultimate performance of the complex system. Pointing and holography tests are performed round the clock and the experts make sure that only antennas fulfilling the tough ALMA specifications get the green light.
03:40
[Narrator]
7. After an antenna has successfully passed all tests at the OSF, the time has come to move it up to the Array Operations Site, which lies at an altitude of 5000 metres. This was successfully done for the first
Loading...
10:01
Science@ESA Podcast 4: Following the Redshift - from HST to JWST - Part 1 (HD)by NeedsEvidence338 views
Link to this comment:
All Comments (0)