World's biggest telescope has unveiled universe's secrets for 10 years
Online News Editor March 13, 2023
y Iñaki Martinez Azpiroz
Atacama, Chile, Mar 13 (EFE).- The ALMA radiotelescope, the largest such instrument in the world and located at an altitude of 5,000 meters (about 16,250 feet) above sea level in Chile’s Atacama Desert, has now been in operation for 10 years during which time it has unveiled numerous secrets of the heavens, including taking the first photograph of a black hole.
In the arid altiplano where only thorny plants grow in the rocky soil, dozens of gigantic white metal structures dot the landscape, slowly moving their enormous round dishes in unison to gaze upward in different directions: these are the 66 detectors or antennas of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) which comprise the world’s largest telescope.
During its first decade of observations, ALMA has advanced scientific knowledge of the creation of new planets, the potential origin of life in other parts of the universe and even supermassive black holes.
“We can set the antennas in different positions, such that we can expand the telescope or make it more compact, according to our scientific needs. If we move them apart, we get more detail, but less amplitude in the image, and vice versa, like the zoom on a camera,” the communications coordinator for the observatory, Nicolar Lira, told EFE.
More:
https://www.laprensalatina.com/worlds-biggest-telescope-has-unveiled-universes-secrets-for-10-years/
ALMA radio telescope dishes reflected in rainwater
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No doubt it would give this truck lover a stroke:
