The results from the recently completed ESO ALMA development study on the development of sub-micron sized Aluminium Nitride barrier Superconductor Insulator Superconductor junctions have now been published in an article in the Journal of Superconductor Science and Technology . The full study report has now also been made public on the ESO ALMA development pages.

Progress in engineering at millimetre wavelengths and advances in semiconductor fabrication techniques offer low noise amplifier (LNA) based radioastronomy receivers which operate at higher temperatures and wider operational bandwidths, with reduced noise, higher pixel density, and more. The University of Manchester and STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory have recently completed ESO's ALMA development study, Towards ALMA System-on-Chip European Receivers (TASER). This two year project developed key technologies for compact integrated front end receivers for ALMA. The benefits of LNA receiver integration and miniaturisation are, among others, lower operational costs, reduced manufacturing and testing labour needs, and the potential for high density focal plane array/phased array feed technology. The results of the TASER study are important steps towards implementing the ALMA Development Roadmap, and beyond, with the aim of enhancing ALMA's status as a globally leading scientific tool.

The ALMA Science Archive (ASA) now allows you to visually search for images that are morphologically similar to a given ASA image (currently 259,126 continuum images and 196,322 peak-flux images of data-cubes) with the aim to help you find such images extremely rapidly within the vast ASA holdings. A description of the state-of-the-art deep learning method used to determine similar images - self-supervised contrastive affine-transformation-independent representation learning with a deep neural network - and the interface we have developed can be found in this ESO Messenger article.

An updated version of the uv coverage assessment tool "assess_ms" is now available here. The software will now run with NumPy 2 under the recently released CASA 6.6.6, the official CASA version for ALMA Cycle 12. Additional information can also be found here.

New Science Verification targets that will demonstrate the Band 2 receivers are now listed on the Science Verification webpage. The possible targets are G31.41+0.31, Arp 220, SPT 0027-50 and HR 5907. The data are planned to be taken with about 25 antennas and will be released for public use; the release of any Science Verification data will also be preceded by a similar announcement. Please visit the above web page for more information.

The ALMA Observatory is delighted to announce that Cycle 11 has set a new all-time record in the number of science-quality observing hours (QA0 PASS observations) delivered across all three arrays. During Cycle 11, ALMA successfully acquired a total of 4496 hours of science-quality data with the 12-m Array, surpassing for the first time the ambitious goal of 4300 hours offered. In addition, 4201 hours were delivered with the 7-m Array, and 3240 hours with the Total Power Array.

In anticipation of Band 2 being offered in the near future, this European ARC workshop brings together astronomers and ALMA/ARC staff to discuss the new potential for various scientific fields. We plan to have a dedicated session focused on looking at the Band 2 Science Verification data. The meeting is hosted by the Italian ALMA Regional Centre node. It will be held in person at the CNR Area in Bologna from Tuesday February 24 to Thursday February 26, 2026. 

The workshop will have a number of invited talks to provide information about the Band 2 receiver, and cover the main scientific areas for which Band 2 is expected to be important. In addition, there will be space for several contributed talks and posters. Participants that are interested in presenting their science and ideas, including synergies with other wavelength regimes, are encouraged to submit an abstract by October 31st.

Installation and testing of the ALMA Band 2 receivers, covering 67 to 116 GHz, is currently underway. In anticipation of Band 2 being offered in the near future, the ALMA Band 2 workshop brings together astronomers and ALMA/ARC staff to discuss the new potential for various scientific fields. We plan to have a dedicated session focused on looking at the Band 2 Science Verification data. The workshop will be held in person on 24 - 26 February 2026, Bologna, Italy.

For more information, registration and abstract submission (abstract deadline October 31), please visit the workshop's website.