ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter Array)

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is an international partnership between Europe, North America, East Asia and the Republic of Chile to build the largest astronomical project in existence. It is an astronomical interferometer, comprising an array of 66 12-meter and 7-meter diameter radio telescopes observing at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. It is being built on the Chajnantor plateau at 5000 meters altitude in the Atacama desert of northern Chile. ALMA is expected to provide insight on star birth during the early universe and detailed imaging of local star and planet formation. Costing more than a billion dollars, it is the most ambitious ground-based telescope currently under construction. ALMA will begin scientific observations in the second half of 2011 and is scheduled to be fully operational by the end of 2012.

I replaced the music because every trailer of this syle on the ESO site has the same music, and it was a song that should be played only once, but if you hear it more than once more than once it hurts. The other video of the ELT i am uploading has the original music.


Video credit: ESO
Music Credit: E.S. Posthumas