Llano de Chajnantor Observatory
Encyclopedia
Llano de Chajnantor Observatory is an astronomical observatory located at an altitude of 5,104 m in the Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

an Atacama desert
Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert is a plateau in South America, covering a strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes mountains. It is, according to NASA, National Geographic and many other publications, the driest desert in the world...

, 50 kilometers to the east of San Pedro de Atacama
San Pedro de Atacama
San Pedro de Atacama is a Chilean town and commune in El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region. It is located east of Antofagasta, some 106 km southeast of Calama and the Chuquicamata copper mine, overlooking the Licancabur volcano. It features a significant archeological museum, the R. P...

. It is a very dry site - inhospitable to humans - but an excellent site for submillimetre astronomy
Submillimetre astronomy
Submillimetre astronomy or submillimeter astronomy is the branch of observational astronomy that is conducted at submillimetre wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. Astronomers place the submillimetre waveband between the far-infrared and microwave wavebands, typically taken to be between a...

. Water vapour absorbs and attenuates submillimetre radiation and thus a dry site is required for this type of short-wavelength radio astronomy
Radio astronomy
Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies. The initial detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was made in the 1930s, when Karl Jansky observed radiation coming from the Milky Way. Subsequent observations have identified a number of...

. It hosts some of the largest and most expensive astronomical telescope
Telescope
A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...

s in the world, with about 1 billion US dollars already allocated for projects on the site.

Chronology of telescopes

  • 1999, Cosmic Background Imager
    Cosmic Background Imager
    The Cosmic Background Imager was a 13-element interferometer perched at an elevation of 5,080 metres at Llano de Chajnantor Observatory in the Chilean Andes...

     (CBI) was the first radio telescope to start observations at Chajnantor
  • 2002, Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment
    Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment
    The Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment is a 10m antenna built by Mitsubishi Electric as a preprototype for ALMA.The ASTE was deployed to its site on Pampa La Bola, near Cerro Chajnantor and the Llano de Chajnantor Observatory in northern Chile. The antenna shows excellent performance...

     (ASTE) installed at Pampa La Bola
  • 2003, Atacama Pathfinder Experiment
    Atacama Pathfinder Experiment
    The Atacama Pathfinder Experiment is a radio telescope located at 5,100 meters above sea level, at the Llano de Chajnantor Observatory in the Atacama desert, in northern Chile, 50 kilometers to the east of San Pedro de Atacama. The main dish has a diameter of 12 meters and consists of 264...

     (APEX)
  • 2004, NANTEN2 Observatory
    NANTEN2 Observatory
    The NANTEN2 Observatory is a southern sky observatory in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. It is located at an altitude of on Pampa la Bola next to Cerro Chajnantor. The observatory is equipped with a millimeter and submillimeter wave telescope that is used for southern sky observations of...

     (NANTEN2)
  • 2007, Atacama Cosmology Telescope
    Atacama Cosmology Telescope
    The Atacama Cosmology Telescope is a six-metre telescope on Cerro Toco in the Atacama Desert in the north of Chile, near the Llano de Chajnantor Observatory. It is designed to make high-resolution, microwave-wavelength surveys of the sky in order to study the cosmic microwave background radiation...

     (ACT)
  • 2008, QUIET
    QUIET
    QUIET is an astronomy experiment to study the polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation. QUIET stands for Q/U Imaging ExperimenT. The Q/U in the name refers to the ability of the telescope to measure the Q and U Stokes parameters simultaneously...

  • 2009, University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory
    University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory
    The University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory is an astronomical observatory located on the summit of Cerro Chajnantor, a 5640 meter lava dome in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile...

     (TAO)

Under construction: Atacama Large Millimeter Array
Atacama Large Millimeter Array
The Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array is an array of radio telescopes in the Atacama desert of northern Chile. Since a high and dry site is crucial to millimeter wavelength operations, the array is being constructed on the Chajnantor plateau at 5000 metres altitude...

 (ALMA), first antennas installed in 2009

Telescopes on the Llano de Chajnantor site

  • Cosmic Background Imager
    Cosmic Background Imager
    The Cosmic Background Imager was a 13-element interferometer perched at an elevation of 5,080 metres at Llano de Chajnantor Observatory in the Chilean Andes...

     (CBI) - decommissioned
  • Atacama Pathfinder Experiment
    Atacama Pathfinder Experiment
    The Atacama Pathfinder Experiment is a radio telescope located at 5,100 meters above sea level, at the Llano de Chajnantor Observatory in the Atacama desert, in northern Chile, 50 kilometers to the east of San Pedro de Atacama. The main dish has a diameter of 12 meters and consists of 264...

     (APEX)
  • Atacama Large Millimeter Array
    Atacama Large Millimeter Array
    The Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array is an array of radio telescopes in the Atacama desert of northern Chile. Since a high and dry site is crucial to millimeter wavelength operations, the array is being constructed on the Chajnantor plateau at 5000 metres altitude...

     (ALMA)
  • QU Imaging Experiment (QUIET)

Telescopes on the adjacent Pampa La Bola site

  • Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment
    Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment
    The Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment is a 10m antenna built by Mitsubishi Electric as a preprototype for ALMA.The ASTE was deployed to its site on Pampa La Bola, near Cerro Chajnantor and the Llano de Chajnantor Observatory in northern Chile. The antenna shows excellent performance...

     (ASTE)
  • NANTEN2 Observatory
    NANTEN2 Observatory
    The NANTEN2 Observatory is a southern sky observatory in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. It is located at an altitude of on Pampa la Bola next to Cerro Chajnantor. The observatory is equipped with a millimeter and submillimeter wave telescope that is used for southern sky observations of...

     (NANTEN2)

Telescopes on adjacent peaks

  • Atacama Cosmology Telescope
    Atacama Cosmology Telescope
    The Atacama Cosmology Telescope is a six-metre telescope on Cerro Toco in the Atacama Desert in the north of Chile, near the Llano de Chajnantor Observatory. It is designed to make high-resolution, microwave-wavelength surveys of the sky in order to study the cosmic microwave background radiation...

     (ACT), on Cerro Toco
  • University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory
    University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory
    The University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory is an astronomical observatory located on the summit of Cerro Chajnantor, a 5640 meter lava dome in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile...

    (TAO), on Cerro Chajnantor

External links

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