Artwork – Page 22 – National Radio Astronomy Observatory

The testing area telescopes of ALMA’s OSF

Here are all three of the ALMA telescopes in the testing area of the ALMA Operations Support Facility in northern Chile. From left to right, they are the European, Japanese, and North American antennas. Since the array was completed in 2013, these three telescopes are now on display for visitors to ALMA’s museum and Operations Support Facility.

Collection of data from radio galaxy NGC 6251

Zooming into a Black Hole

This collection of data from a powerful radio galaxy known as NGC 6251 shows the increase in detail astronomers get when they use the Very Large Array and the Very Long Baseline Array. The VLA sees the blobbiness along the jet of material shooting out of a supermassive black hole. The VLBA can see down into the area right around that black hole.

Telescope Comparison

Sited at 16,500 ft above sea level, ALMA is the highest array of telescopes in the world. This diagram compares the major observatory elevations.

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