Editing Atacama Large Millimeter Array (section)

== Project detail ==
[[File:Counting sheep on the Chajnantor plateau (potw2328a).jpg|thumb|ALMA site from above]]

* At least 50 [[antenna (electronics)|antennae]] of 12&nbsp;m diameter located at an elevation of 5,000&nbsp;m at [[Llano de Chajnantor Observatory]], enhanced by a compact array of {{nowrap|4&nbsp;m × 12&nbsp;m}} and {{nowrap|12&nbsp;m × 7&nbsp;m}} [[antenna (electronics)|antennae]] (in 2006, consortium considered whether to build 50 or 64 of the 12&nbsp;m ones. [http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/312/5776/990 After a Tough Year, ALMA's Star Begins to Rise at Last] [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v439/n7076/full/439526a.html High and dry])
* [[Digital imaging|Imaging]] instrument in all [[Radio window|atmospheric windows]] between 350&nbsp;μm and 10&nbsp;mm
* Array configurations from approximately 150&nbsp;m to 14&nbsp;km
* [[Spatial resolution]] of 10&nbsp;[[arcsecond|milliarcsecond]]s (10<sup>−7</sup>&nbsp;radians), 10 times better than the [[Very Large Array]] (VLA) and 5 times better than the [[Hubble Space Telescope]], but still considerably lower than the resolution achieved with [[Astronomical interferometer|optical and infrared interferometers]].
* The ability to image sources [[arcminute]]s to degrees across at one arcsecond resolution
* Velocity resolution under 50&nbsp;m/s
* Faster and more flexible imaging instrument than the Very Large Array
* Largest and most sensitive instrument in the world at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths
* Point source detection sensitivity 20 times better than the Very Large Array
* Data reduction system will be CASA (Common Astronomy Software Applications) which is a new software package based on [[AIPS++]]

=== Atacama Compact Array ===
[[File:The Atacama Compact Array.jpg|thumb|The Atacama Compact Array]]
The Atacama Compact Array, ACA, is a subset of 16 closely separated antennae that will greatly improve ALMA's ability to study celestial objects with a large angular size, such as molecular clouds and nearby galaxies. The antennae forming the Atacama Compact Array, four 12-meter antennae and twelve 7-meter antennae, were produced and delivered by Japan. In 2013, the Atacama Compact Array was named the Morita Array after Professor Koh-ichiro Morita, a member of the Japanese ALMA team and designer of the ACA, who died on 7 May 2012 in Santiago.<ref>{{cite news|title=ALMA Compact Array Completed and Named After Japanese Astronomer|url=http://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann13040/|access-date=8 May 2013|newspaper=ESO Announcement}}</ref>