Galaxies by Radio by Tom Chao The most complex ground-based astronomy observatory, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), has officially opened for astronomers on the Chajnantor plateau in Chile. The first image released shows the Antennae Galaxies in a way that cannot be seen by visible-light and infrared telescopes. The galaxies, seen here, consist of a pair of colliding galaxies with distorted shapes. ALMA’s new view reveals things that we cannot see in visible light: clouds of dense cold gas from which new stars form. Presently, only around a third of ALMA’s planned 66 radio antennas operate, yet still this represents the best submillimetre-wavelength image ever made of the Antennae Galaxies. (via: Space.com)   (image: ESO) View high resolution

Galaxies by Radio

by Tom Chao

The most complex ground-based astronomy observatory, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), has officially opened for astronomers on the Chajnantor plateau in Chile. The first image released shows the Antennae Galaxies in a way that cannot be seen by visible-light and infrared telescopes. The galaxies, seen here, consist of a pair of colliding galaxies with distorted shapes. ALMA’s new view reveals things that we cannot see in visible light: clouds of dense cold gas from which new stars form. Presently, only around a third of ALMA’s planned 66 radio antennas operate, yet still this represents the best submillimetre-wavelength image ever made of the Antennae Galaxies.

(via: Space.com)   (image: ESO)

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