Title:　　　　 ALMA Telescope and New Astronomy Explored by ALMA

Speaker:　　  Dr. Satoru Iguchi  (Deputy Project Director of ALMA-Japan)　　　　　 

Affiliation:　　 NAO (Japan)

Time:　　　　 2:00pm, (Tuesday) August 9, 2011

Location:　　  Middle Conference Room, 3rd floor

Abstract:　　  ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) is a gigantic radio interferometer array with 66 parabola antennas. ALMA consists of fifty 12-m antennas and "Atacama Compact Array (ACA)" which is composed of four 12-m antennas and twelve 7-m antennas. It is located on the Atacama Desert in Chile at 5000 m above sea level, in which the area is wide, the climate is stable throughout the year, and the air is dry. By spreading these transportable antennas over the distance of up to 18.5 km, ALMA achieves the resolution equivalent to a telescope of 18.5 km in diameter, as a telescope with the world's highest sensitivities and resolutions at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. ALMA started its construction in 2002, and will start its early science operation from 2011 Q4. It is expected that ALMA will be a key to solving mysteries of the universe. I will present the progress of the ALMA construction and several science targets of ALMA.