ALMA Explorer: Virtual Tour of Revolutionary Telescope Now in Spanish
6 June, 2015 / Read time: 3 minutes
Spanish speakers can now experience the thrill of exploring the Universe with ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, the world's most advanced astronomical observatory.
To bring the public to this remote yet amazing location - at 5,000 meters above sea level in the Chilean Andes-, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), the North American ALMA partner, has launched the Spanish-language version of its popular ALMA Explorer website.
This rich multimedia experience contains behind-the-scenes videos, interviews with scientists and engineers, and stunning imagery of the telescope and its surrounding landscape high in the Atacama Desert of Northern Chile.
This online tour is also filled with astounding details of the building and operation of the 66 high-precision antennas that give ALMA its unprecedented sensitivity and resolution.
Through the ALMA Explorer, visitors will learn about ALMA's two main locations: the Array Operations Site (AOS, at 5,000m-altitude), which houses ALMA's supercomputing Correlator; and the Operations Support Facility (OSF, at 2,900m-altitude), where the scientists, engineers, and technicians oversee the day-to-day operations of the telescope. Visitors will also see the beauty of the natural and human environment surrounding ALMA, where local communities preserve the rich ancestral heritage of the Atacameño people, one of the oldest native ethnic groups in Chile.
The Spanish virtual tour is narrated by famed Chilean radio and TV announcer Fernando Solis Lara, who for more than 25 years has been the official voice for TVN -- one of the biggest public television networks in Chile. Solis Lara is also the voiceover talent for Universal Channel (LATAM feed) and Fox Sports. He also is the Spanish voice for Neil de Grasse Tyson in the 2014 remake of the acclaimed science series Cosmos.
You can visit the ALMA Explorer in Spanish
The original English version is here
More Information
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (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. ALMA is funded by ESO on behalf of its Member States, by NSF in cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the National Science Council of Taiwan (NSC) and by NINS in cooperation with the Academia Sinica (AS) in Taiwan and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI).
ALMA construction and operations are led by ESO on behalf of its Member States; by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), managed by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), on behalf of North America; and by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) on behalf of East Asia. The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of ALMA.
Contact:
Valeria Foncea
Education and Public Outreach Officer
Joint ALMA Observatory
Santiago, Chile
Tel: +56 2 467 6258
Cell: +56 9 75871963
Email: [email protected]