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November 14, 2012

Thirty-three ALMA Antennas on Chajnantor Plateau

On May 12, 2012, another Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) antenna was carried up to the 5000 meter plateau of Chajnantor, bringing the total on the plateau to 33. This marks a halfway point for ALMA, as the telescope will have a total of 66 antennas when completed in 2013. At present, the antennas are located all together at the so-called "central array" except one (the white spot on the right in the background, very close to the mountains), which is situated 1,966 meters away from the others and enables testing of longish baselines.

ALMA is an international astronomy facility that is a partnership of Europe, North America and East Asia in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. It is funded in part by the National Science Foundation. To learn more, visit the ALMA website. (Date of Image: May 2012)

Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), J. Guarda (ALMA)

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