Witnessing the birth of stars would require a telescope larger in diameter than many cities. Say hello to ALMA. Light from the setting sun dances on antennas forming part of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), high in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Image ©Dave Yoder/National Geographic
On a May morning two pickup trucks passed through the quiet town of San Pedro in Chile’s Atacama Desert and headed up a mountainside on a dirt road. It was 1994, and the five men inside the trucks were on a peculiar quest: to find the highest, driest, flattest place on the planet. Read the full story at National Geographic
As the last of 25 North American antennas rolls toward a docking pad, the world’s largest—and at $1.3 billion, costliest—ground-based telescope nears readiness. The joint American, European, and Japanese project will map unseen cosmic regions with unprecedented clarity. Image © Dave Yoder/National Geographic
Image © National Geographic
The images are from the April issue of National Geographic magazine.
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