Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array

Hello from up here. The air is cold and thin, high in the mountains of the Atacama Desert in Chile. The sky above me is so clear it bursts with stars every night. It’s very quiet. If you looked at me, you would see a big family of large, white dishes, all pointing toward the sky. We look like giant ears, listening for secrets from far, far away. But really, we work together to be one single, giant eye, looking deep into space. I am the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, but that’s a very long name. You can call me ALMA. I am a special kind of telescope, made to see things that no human eye can.

I wasn't built by just one person. I was created by a big team of smart scientists and engineers from many different countries in Europe, North America, and East Asia. It took a long time to make me. Starting around the year 2003, my many parts began a long journey to Chile. They were carried very carefully up a tall mountain called the Chajnantor Plateau. My antennas, which are the big white dishes, are very special. The very first one arrived up here in 2007. Why was I built so high up in the desert. It’s because I was made to see a kind of light that our eyes can’t see. It’s a cold, faint light that comes from the beginning of the universe and from places where new stars are being born. On October 3rd, 2011, I was so excited to share my very first picture with the world. It showed everyone a beautiful cosmic crash where new stars were being created.

My grand opening party, or inauguration, was on March 13th, 2013. Now, all 66 of my antennas are wide awake and working together as one giant telescope. My job is to listen to the whispers from the quietest, coldest parts of space. I can see giant clouds of dust where brand-new planets are forming around stars that are very far away. I can even watch galaxies that are billions of light-years from Earth. By looking at this very old light, I help people on Earth learn about how everything, including our own Sun and planet, began. I show them that the universe is a giant, wonderful, and mysterious place. And I remind everyone that when people from all over the world work together as a team, we can learn the amazing secrets of the stars.