NRAO to Consolidate ALMA Operations in Charlottesville

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) has begun the planning for consolidating its Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) operations in Charlottesville, Virginia, NRAO Director Fred K.Y. Lo announced.

ALMA is an international collaboration between North America and Europe to build a millimeter-wave radio telescope system on the Atacama Plains of the Andes Mountains of northern Chile. This array will include 64 twelve-meter-diameter antennas working together to produce highly detailed images of astronomical objects. It will be the largest and most sensitive telescope in the world operating at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. Such wavelengths are between those normally considered radio wavelengths and infrared wavelengths. ALMA is expected to be completed in 2011.

After construction, there will be three major aspects of the operational phase: support of observatory operations in Chile, ALMA upgrade development, and a Regional Science Center in support of science use of ALMA by the North American astronomy community.

In order that the NRAO can most effectively carry out the construction of ALMA and start preparations for the Regional Science Center it has been decided to consolidate the Tucson, Arizona, ALMA group into the Charlottesville site. Over the next few months, detailed transition plans will be developed to minimize disruptions to ongoing ALMA activities. Operations at Tucson are to complete the changeover by 2006.

"Our highest priority in developing these plans is to preserve the outstanding staff that makes up the Tucson team," said Lo. The Observatory plans to move all of the ALMA Tucson staff who are willing to Charlottesville, according to Lo. The NRAO Tucson facility now includes 38 employees, all working on the ALMA project.

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

Copyright © 2009 Associated Universities, Inc.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.