Situated in northern Chile at an altitude of 5000 metres above sea level, in the dry thin air of the Atacama desert, you will find the remarkable feat of engineering that makes up ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array) – 66 high-precision antennas that form the most expensive ground-based telescope currently in operation in the world. Built as a result of a worldwide international partnership and said to have cost more than a billion US dollars, ALMA has been operational since March 2013 and will look to the stars and galaxies to discover the very first traces of life.
Released this week are images of one of the first objects to be studied using ALMA, the violent process of the birth of a star more than 1400 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Vela.
It gives a stunning close-up of material streaming away from the baby star at an incredible speed and glowing as it collides with surrounding gas and dust. Astronomers say these illuminated jets are spilling out faster than has ever been measured before and have more energy than previously thought.
Take a look at the video clip to see more detail and to marvel at the enormity of our universe!
Released this week are images of one of the first objects to be studied using ALMA, the violent process of the birth of a star more than 1400 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Vela.
It gives a stunning close-up of material streaming away from the baby star at an incredible speed and glowing as it collides with surrounding gas and dust. Astronomers say these illuminated jets are spilling out faster than has ever been measured before and have more energy than previously thought.
Take a look at the video clip to see more detail and to marvel at the enormity of our universe!
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