ALMA is an international astronomy facility created as a partnership between North America, Japan, and Europe with the Republic of Chile. The name ALMA stands for the “Atacama Large Millimeter/sub millimeter Array. It is a single research instrument that is made up of about 80 high-precision antennas, situated in the Chajnator plain of the Chilean Andes in the District of San Pedro de Atacama which is about 5000m above the sea level.
The ALMA will be a complete astronomical imaging and spectroscopic imaging for the millimeter/sub millimeter. It provides scientists with the wavelength coverage and capabilities that complement other research facilities like the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the Expanded Very Large Array, and the special considerations that were made in choosing its location.
In the course of choosing an appropriate site for the ALMA project, many sites were investigated. The main consideration made was water, the water present in the atmosphere helps in the absorption of the faint emissions that arises from the cosmological distances and thus prevent high pollution. Some of the other considerations that were made for the ALMA include: The high altitude of about 5000m of the site, the dryness and stability of the site which is essential for the ALMA project. The largeness and openess of the site makes it possible to easily re-position antenna over an area of about 18 km in extent and the flat surface area makes it easier to move the antennas that make up. The Chajnator plain of the Chilean Andes in the District of San Pedro de Atacama also ensures the best possible sensitivity even when the objects are faint and very far.
Reference
(2013). Institute for Space Imaging Science Radio Astronomy. University of Calgary University Dr. NW Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
http://www.ucalgary.ca/ras/ALMA
