An incredible scientific project is under development in Chile, a supermassive radio telescope that will listen to frequencies between the radio and infrared spectrum. The telescope will be able to tune in particles and offer astronomers a new portrait of the early universe, along with a star and planetary formations in out space volume.

The project, called ALMA ( Atacama Large Millimeter / Submillimeter Array ) is going to be completed in 2012 and it features transporters for the giant antenna, so it can be easily reconfigured.

ALMA has been explain in detail by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory:

The millimeter and submillimeter wavelength range lies between what is traditionally considered radio waves and infrared waves. ALMA, a system using up to 66 high-precision dish antennas working together, will provide astronomers with dramatically greater sensitivity, the ability to detect faint objects, and resolving power, the ability to see fine detail, than has ever before been available in this range . . .

Astronomers expect ALMA to make extremely important contributions in a a variety of scientific specialties. The new telescope system will be a premier tool for studying the first stars and galaxies that emerged from the cosmic “dark ages” billions of years ago. These objects now are seen at great cosmic distances, with most of their light stretched out to millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths by the expansion of the Universe.

In the more nearby Universe, ALMA will provide an unprecedented ability to study the processes of star and planet formation. Unimpeded by the dust that obscures visible-light observations, ALMA will be able to reveal the details of young, still-forming stars, and is expected to show young planets still in the process of developing. In addition, ALMA will allow scientists to learn in detail about the complex chemistry of the giant clouds of gas and dust that spawn stars and planetary systems.

Also, an ALMA board member and Caltech professor, Anneila Sargent stated that “Most of the photons in the Universe are in the wavelength range that ALMA will receive, and ALMA will give us our first high-resolution views at these wavelengths. This will be a tremendous advancement for astronomy and open one of our science’s last frontiers.”