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ALMA Opens For Public Visits
ALMA’s Operations Support Facility will open its doors to the public for the first time on 29 March 2015, offering members of the public a rare opportunity to experience what everyday life is like for those working on one of the most advanced pieces of scientific equipment in the world.
ALMA is a state-of-the-art telescope to study light from some of the coldest objects in the Universe. This light has wavelengths of around a millimetre, between infrared light and radio waves, and is therefore known as millimetre and submillimetre radiation. ALMA comprises 66 high-precision antennas, spread over distances of up to 16 kilometres. This global collaboration is the largest ground-based astronomical project in existence.
Serving as a centre of operations, the ALMA Operations Support Facility is located 28 kilometres from the telescope array itself and accommodates up to 250 workers, including contractors, maintenance staff and astronomers.
Visits to the Operations Support Facility are now possible on Saturday and Sunday mornings, with a bus service running from San Pedro de Atacama. Reservations are mandatory. More information and booking information can be found on this page.
Courtesy of European Southern Observatory
Source: http://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann15020/
