ALMA
Science & Engineering abbreviation · Astronomy & Space
| Stands for | Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array |
|---|---|
| Categories | Science & Engineering |
ALMA stands for Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, an astronomy & Space abbreviation.
Radio telescope of 66 high-precision antennas on the Chajnantor plateau in Chile, about 5,000 meters above sea level. ALMA observes cold gas and dust where stars and planets form, and it produced the first sharp images of planet-forming disks around young stars.
Example: ALMA's image of HL Tauri showed gaps in the dusty disk, likely carved by forming planets.
Usage notes
ALMA is a partnership of ESO, the US National Science Foundation and Japan's National Institutes of Natural Sciences with Chile. It was inaugurated in 2013. Its antennas can be moved by giant transporter vehicles to spread them up to 16 kilometers apart, sharpening resolution. "Alma" means soul in Spanish.
Related abbreviations
More astronomy & Space abbreviations
- AGN – Active galactic nucleus
- AU – Astronomical unit
- BBN – Big Bang nucleosynthesis
- BH – Black hole
- CMB – Cosmic microwave background
- CME – Coronal mass ejection
- CNSA – China National Space Administration
- COBE – Cosmic Background Explorer
- CSM – Command and Service Module
- DART – Double Asteroid Redirection Test
- DE – Dark energy
- Dec – Declination