Posted on 03/13/2013 3:31:48 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Today is inauguration day for ALMA, the massive telescopic array thats still under construction in Chiles Atacama Desert. But just because its not finished doesnt mean astronomers havent been using it. The $1.5 billion telescope has just peered into the deepest realms of the universe, revealing some of the most distant star-spawning galaxies ever discovered....
(Excerpt) Read more at io9.com ...
Wow
$1.5 billion seems a little steep even for 26 satellite dishes. I could have done it for a billion. I would even throw in three months of free HBO.
Just read an article about this telescope the other day. Didn’t expect to be reading about any of its discoveries so soon! Can’t wait for all 66 telescopes to come online. Bet it revolutionizes astronomers understanding of the Big Bang.
ping.
Excellent! I’ve corresponded with one of the principals on the ALMA, fascinated by his work with prism-based attenuators above 100 GHz. I was once designing a secure gigabit data link using the “water hole” at 145 GHz.
Robert Heinlein once posited that whatever new species we might blunder into would not be a friendly one.
You sound like you are a big Com guy, I'm interested in hearing more from you in the near future.
“prism-based attenuators above 100 GHz. I was once designing a secure gigabit data link using the water hole at 145 GHz.”
http://www.moviesoundclips.net/download.php?id=2852&ft=wav
Not if they have a brain in their head, it won't.
I’m guessing they found obamas budget cut proposal?
... refers to an especially quiet band of the electromagnetic spectrum between 1,420 and 1,666 megahertz...Within this frequency range, interference (attenuation) due to interstellar water molecules is at a minimum, making it a good place (supposedly) to look for signals from other civilizations.
The irony is that "water holes" are places where different species of animals meet and gather in the (terrestrial) wild.
Interesting!
Thanks BenLurkin. An ‘extra, extra’ for APoD members.
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Thank you for the ping SunkenCiv. I would would not have seen this interesting article without it.
My pleasure, and thanks for the kind remarks!
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