VLA antenna
ALMA antennas

Into Deepest Space: The Story of ALMA

this 52-minute public television documentary reveals the motivations, struggles and ultimate triumphs of the people designing and building the most elaborate ground-based astronomical observatory ever, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).

Construction of the 140-foot telescope

Building the 140-foot Telescope at Green Bank

The world’s largest polar-aligned telescope was a challenge to design, deliver, and assemble. Here is the story of how it was finally erected in Green Bank, West Virginia in 1965.

Molecular gas in the Antennae Galaxies

ALMA Discovers Proto Super Star Cluster

Animation of ALMA data depicting dense cores of molecular gas in the Antennae galaxies. The yellow object at the center may be the first prenatal example of a globular cluster ever identified.

Artist's impression of Einstein Ring

Animation of a Gravitational Lens Creating an Einstein Ring

Animation demonstrating how the gravity from a massive foreground galaxy can bend the light of a more distant galaxy. If the two galaxies line up just right, the result is a highly distorted image of the distant galaxy known as an Einstein ring. The radio image portion of the video is of galaxy SDP.81, which was imaged by ALMA as part of the telescope’s Long Baseline Campaign.

NGC 253

NGC 253: Why Starburst Galaxies Burst

Animation of ALMA data reveals a diffuse envelope of carbon monoxide gas (shown in red), which surrounds stellar nurseries — regions of active star formation (in yellow). By dissecting these regions with ALMA, astronomers are uncovering clues to the processes and conditions that drive furious star formation. The ALMA data are superimposed on a Hubble image that covers part of the same region.