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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.
‘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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