ALMA Early Science Cycle 0 Status Report
2 February, 2012 / Read time: 1 minute
The Joint ALMA Observatory has released a status report on Cycle 0 observing and a statement about the timeline for ALMA Early Science Cycle 1. The full report can be found here.
ALMA started scientific operations on 30 September 2011. While the quality of the data being collected is excellent, the completion rate of projects is lower than planned. To increase the likelihood that most PIs of the highest priority Cycle 0 projects will receive scientifically valuable data sets, the Cycle 0 observing period will be extended until the end of 2012. This extension will not delay completion of the array.
The observatory plans to release information regarding the capabilities and timeline for ALMA Early Science Cycle 1 in April 2012. Theproposal deadline is expected to be in July 2012 with the start of Cycle 1 observations at the beginning of 2013.
The highest priority of the ALMA project continues to be the completion of the full array, expected in the second half of 2013.