What is thought to be the world’s largest ground-based observatory opened in northern Chile, wielding unprecedented power to peer into the remotest regions of the universe.
The ALMA space observatory was inaugurated on on a desert plateau some 5,000 metres above sea level, at a ceremony attended by President Sebastian Pinera and other dignitaries.
‘Here in this desert, the driest in the world, it is a great privilege to inaugurate the observatory,’ Pinera said.
Calling it ‘the world’s most powerful,’ he said the observatory will make ‘a significant contribution to humanity, enable a better understanding of the universe in which we live, and perhaps help us discover life beyond Earth.’
‘ALMA is a huge telescope 16 kilometres in diameter,’ said the facility’s director Thijs de Graauw, as it was declared officially opened.
Amid excited applause, 59 of the 66 antennas slowly began to rotate and point toward the interior of the universe. By October, all the antennas will be fully installed and operational.
Gianni Marconi, an astronomer at the massive ground array of telescopes, recently proudly proclaimed that ALMA is ‘the largest observatory that has ever been built.’
ALMA – short for the Atacama Large Millimeter-submillimeter Array, an acronym which means ‘soul’ in Spanish – is a joint effort among North American, European and Asian agencies. The observatory is located near Pedro de Atacama, a desert town popular with tourists. With almost no humidity or vegetation to block its view of the heavens, ALMA’s antennas range in diameter from seven metres to 12 metres.
‘There is virtually no water vapour, there is just so little that whatever light is emitted from a heavenly body, galaxy or star, it gets here with no interference’ Marconi said.
When scientists who homed in on this site for ALMA said they were looking for a place that had a high altitude, low humidity, sunny weather and fairly easy logistical access. De Graauw said recently that ALMA’s ultra-precise equipment would be used to seek answers to big questions – star formation, the birth of planets and how the system was created after the Big Bang.
18,000 YEAR OLD PREHISTORIC ANIMAL HORN FOUND IN SIBERIA
A horn fragment of a buffalo or perhaps another unknown prehistoric animal that died 18,000 years ago has been found in Russia’s south Siberian region, officials said.
It was discovered a few days ago in a sand and gravel pit in Maimin district of Gorny Altai region.
Experts believe the prehistoric animal could have been killed by a huge flood about 18,000 years ago, when a large lake in the Chui Steppe overflowed its banks.
‘That caused the most massive flood in history, with water moving at a speed of 160 km an hour and covering earth with 490 metres of water,’ the government said in a report.
After a thorough examination, the discovery will be handed over to a museum.
Remains of extinct animals have previously been found in Altai. In the fall of 2012, mammoth tusks were discovered near the village of Maima, at a depth of over 10 metres. Mammoths died out about 10,000 years ago during the last ice age.
The ALMA space observatory was inaugurated on on a desert plateau some 5,000 metres above sea level, at a ceremony attended by President Sebastian Pinera and other dignitaries.
‘Here in this desert, the driest in the world, it is a great privilege to inaugurate the observatory,’ Pinera said.
Calling it ‘the world’s most powerful,’ he said the observatory will make ‘a significant contribution to humanity, enable a better understanding of the universe in which we live, and perhaps help us discover life beyond Earth.’
‘ALMA is a huge telescope 16 kilometres in diameter,’ said the facility’s director Thijs de Graauw, as it was declared officially opened.
Amid excited applause, 59 of the 66 antennas slowly began to rotate and point toward the interior of the universe. By October, all the antennas will be fully installed and operational.
Gianni Marconi, an astronomer at the massive ground array of telescopes, recently proudly proclaimed that ALMA is ‘the largest observatory that has ever been built.’
ALMA – short for the Atacama Large Millimeter-submillimeter Array, an acronym which means ‘soul’ in Spanish – is a joint effort among North American, European and Asian agencies. The observatory is located near Pedro de Atacama, a desert town popular with tourists. With almost no humidity or vegetation to block its view of the heavens, ALMA’s antennas range in diameter from seven metres to 12 metres.
‘There is virtually no water vapour, there is just so little that whatever light is emitted from a heavenly body, galaxy or star, it gets here with no interference’ Marconi said.
When scientists who homed in on this site for ALMA said they were looking for a place that had a high altitude, low humidity, sunny weather and fairly easy logistical access. De Graauw said recently that ALMA’s ultra-precise equipment would be used to seek answers to big questions – star formation, the birth of planets and how the system was created after the Big Bang.
18,000 YEAR OLD PREHISTORIC ANIMAL HORN FOUND IN SIBERIA
A horn fragment of a buffalo or perhaps another unknown prehistoric animal that died 18,000 years ago has been found in Russia’s south Siberian region, officials said.
It was discovered a few days ago in a sand and gravel pit in Maimin district of Gorny Altai region.
Experts believe the prehistoric animal could have been killed by a huge flood about 18,000 years ago, when a large lake in the Chui Steppe overflowed its banks.
‘That caused the most massive flood in history, with water moving at a speed of 160 km an hour and covering earth with 490 metres of water,’ the government said in a report.
After a thorough examination, the discovery will be handed over to a museum.
Remains of extinct animals have previously been found in Altai. In the fall of 2012, mammoth tusks were discovered near the village of Maima, at a depth of over 10 metres. Mammoths died out about 10,000 years ago during the last ice age.