The new camera provides a live 360-degree view of the activities at ALMA’s “high site” throughout the year and can be used interactively to explore the site in all directions in exquisite detail. In addition to views of the array antennas, the camera also provides stunning views of the geologic wonders of the Chajnantor Plateau, including the Licancabur stratovolcano and the curious, blade-like snow formations known as penitentes, which form only in extremely high and dry conditions, like those found at ALMA.
The newly installed camera is so sensitive that it can reveal the night sky over ALMA as one would see it on site. The stunning visual capability of this new camera breaks new ground in providing live observatory views. With it, ALMA also is presented in razor-sharp, fish-eye images, which can also be used in planetariums around the world. The camera was provided by the France-based company Apical.
The webcam images, including the live 360-degree view, can be found here.
ALMA, an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of ESO, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS) of Japan in cooperation with the Republic of Chile.
