EYES ON THE SKY

Earth-bound telescopes are transforming our understanding of the universe. But we think they look pretty out-of-this-world too…

- ALICE LIPSCOMBE-SOUTHWELL

PEEK INTO THE PAST

ATACAMA LARGE MILLIMETER/ SUBMILLIMETER ARRAY (ALMA)

Chajnantor plateau, Atacama Desert, Chile

The Atacama Desert in Chile is an astronomer’s paradise. Thanks to its high altitude, cold nights, scant precipitation and lack of pollution, it boasts some of the clearest night skies on the planet. That’s why the European Southern Observatory (ESO) – an astronomical research organisation of 16 countries – worked with Chile to set up powerful ground-based telescopes in the desert, including the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Beginning observations in 2011, the high-tech telescope consists of 66 precise antennas that can be arranged in different ways to give a variable zoom, capturing sharper detail than the Hubble Space Telescope. ALMA studies light with wavelengths of around a millimetre, originating from the universe’s coldest objects that exist at temperatures at just above absolute zero. These objects include the molecular gas and dust clouds that are the building blocks of galaxies, stars and planets. By studying these regions of the universe, scientists will be able to decipher the mysteries of planetary formations, as well as our cosmic origins.

The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) is the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope.

DECIPHER THE UNIVERSE

VERY LARGE TELESCOPE (VLT)

Cerro Paranal, Atacama Desert, Chile