Computer Science – Performance
Scientific paper
Apr 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010alman...5....1d&link_type=abstract
ALMA Newsletter, vol. 5, p. 1-1
Computer Science
Performance
Alma
Scientific paper
By far the most dramatic event that happened in Chile since the last newsletter was of course the big earthquake on 27th February. This affected everybody's lives in one way or another but we feel extremely lucky that none of the ALMA staff were injured. While the property damage in the Santiago area is limited, further south the disruption was much more severe and several families of our staff suffered significant material damage and were deprived for some time from food and water. In response to this critical situation, we arranged three emergency shipments of supplies, and ALMA staff volunteers transported these to Regions VII and VIII, the regions most affected by the catastrophe. Also, we set up a relief fund to collect and channel donations from employees. The ALMA site is far enough from the epicenter that there was no direct effect but it was necessary to put the activities there into a standby mode so that the staff members who needed to, could return home to be with their families. Operations resumed on the 8th of March. However, there have been plenty of positive things happening within the Project as well. January saw the formal start of Commissioning and Science Verification (CSV). This is the process which is intended to take the whole instrument from the stage where it is a collection of very complex parts which have been integrated together and make it into an instrument capable of producing images and making measurements with the exquisite sensitivity and precision which is the goal of the project. The work started with the three antennas in the "Phase I" locations somewhat to the west of the site. At the end of March the antennas were moved to a new location at the center of the site, using the antenna stations that will eventually form the Atacama Compact Array. This enables us to put the antennas close together, which is essential for some of the critical tests of the antenna performance and the stability of the system. You can find more details about these exciting developments in this newsletter. And as usual, you will also find a list of upcoming events, seminars and workshops related to ALMA and radio astronomy that we strongly recommend as well as the latest job opportunities to join the exciting and challenging ALMA adventure. I cannot finish this introduction without drawing your attention to the emerging results of the Herschel satellite and its instruments, HIFI, PACS and SPIRE. The images and spectra are truly stunning and very exciting and of great interest for future ALMA observing programs.
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