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Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
August 2023
Print publication year:
2023
Online ISBN:
9781009279727
Creative Commons:
Creative Common License - CC Creative Common License - BY Creative Common License - NC Creative Common License - ND
This content is Open Access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/creativelicenses

Book description

ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, situated high in the Chilean desert, is the largest ground-based telescope on Earth. This is an insiders' account of how this complex mega-project came to fruition from authors with intimate knowledge of its past and present. The separate roots of ALMA in the United States, Europe, and Japan are traced to their merger into an international partnership involving more than 20 countries. The book relates the search for a suitable telescope site, challenges encountered in organization, funding, and construction, and lessons learned along the way. It closes with a review of the most significant results from ALMA, now one of the most productive telescopes in the world. Written for a broad spectrum of readers, including astronomers, engineers, project managers, science historians, government officials, and the general public, the eBook edition is available to download as an Open Access publication on Cambridge Core.

Reviews

‘ALMA took over thirty years to gestate, during which a great many committees, working groups, boards, and similar organizational bodies came and went. … the authors were present officially at, or not far removed from, the action during much of the period in question, thereby endowing the book with the status of a reference manual as well as a finely-interrelated collection of facts and figures. … The story is charmingly illustrated with cameos involving key players … It will make interesting reading for the inquisitive public and for astronomers not directly involved, while primarily offering a fine set of reminiscences for the many who were so involved. It is a remarkable product of industrious archival research, and deserves a place on both science and departmental bookshelves.’

Elizabeth Griffin Source: The Observatory

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Contents

Full book PDF
  • The ALMA Telescope
    pp i-ii
  • Copyright page
    pp iv-iv
  • Dedication
    pp v-v
  • Contents
    pp vii-xii
  • Foreword
    pp xiii-xviii
  • Preface
    pp xix-xxiv
  • 1 - Interstellar Carbon Monoxide
    pp 1-8
  • 2 - What Now?
    pp 9-21
  • 3 - The Millimeter Array
    pp 22-42
  • 4 - Searching for a Site
    pp 43-75
  • 5 - Foreign Affairs
    pp 76-91
  • 6 - Organizing ALMA
    pp 92-112
  • 7 - Contentious Matters
    pp 113-140
  • 8 - Funding ALMA
    pp 141-153
  • 9 - Construction and Inauguration
    pp 154-181
  • 10 - Promises Fulfilled
    pp 182-210
  • Appendices
    pp 211-245
  • Appendix A - Radio Astronomy
    pp 211-222
  • Appendix B - Millimeter/Submillimeter Telescopes
    pp 223-239
  • Appendix C - Lessons Learned
    pp 240-245
  • Glossary
    pp 246-250
  • References
    pp 251-255
  • Index
    pp 256-264

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