November 2004 --- ALMA Santiago Central Offices Open
October 13, 2004 --- ALMA Town Meeting - Tuesday, January 11 2005, 1-2pm PST
The ALMA project will hold a Town Meeting during the 205th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in San Diego, California (9-13 January 2005). This meeting is principally aimed at informing the North American astronomical community about the scientific capabilities and current status of the ALMA Project.
There has been much progress in the construction of ALMA, both in Chile, North America, and Europe. Japan is poised to join the ALMA Project as a third partner. The meeting will cover progress on all these fronts. Equally important, there will be a presentation of the North American ALMA Science Center (NAASC), which is being organized in Charlottesville, Virginia. This center will be the main communication hub between North American astronomers and the Joint ALMA Observatory. Following the presentation, there will be a discussion session where we will solicit comments from the user community, with a focus on the science user services to be provided by the NAASC. If you will be at the AAS Meeting, please plan to attend this Town Meeting.
The tentative agenda for the Meeting is as follows:
- Introduction - K. Y. Lo, Director of NRAO
- ALMA Science Examples - M. Yun, UMass
- Project description, status - M. Tarenghi, ALMA Director
- North American ALMA Science Center - A. Wootten, NA ALMA Project Scientist
- Discussion (15 mins) - Moderator A. Wootten
October 22, 2004 --- European ALMA Newsletter (2nd Ed.)
October 1, 2004 --- ALMA Project Progress Report from NRAO Newsletter
August 28, 2004 --- The Cool Universe: Observing Cosmic Dawn - October 4 - 8, 2004
During October, 2004 in Valparaiso, Chile, the NRAO, NOAO, Gemini, LCO, ESO and NAOJ will sponsor a conference on the astrophysical topics which will be among the prime scientific purposes for ALMA. The workshop will consist of a series of tutorials, reviews, and oral contributions discussing the physical processes in cool matter and the astronomical objects in which they occur.
For further information go to "The Cool Universe: Observing Cosmic Dawn."
July 19, 2004 --- Operations Support Facility Under Construction
A key part of the operations of ALMA will be the Operations Support Facility (OSF) or the mid-altitude site. Since the high site where the telescopes will operate at 5,000 meters is such a challenging environment, staff will only make day visits there. Most of the work including even maintenance and repair of the antennas will take place at the OSF where there will be offices and living quarters for visitors. It is to here that antennas will be transported for any needed maintenance, repair, and installation of new equipment. Construction proceeds at the OSF, with more than 60% of the permanent road from the OSF to the Array Operations Site (AOS) completed, as well as installation of the ALMA and contractor camps.