ALMA's world at night (full panorama)

This panoramic view of the Chajnantor plateau shows the antennas of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) ranged across the unearthly landscape. Some familiar celestial objects can be seen in the night sky behind them. These crystal-clear night skies explain why Chile is the home of not only ALMA, but also several other astronomical observatories.

In the foreground, the 12-metre diameter ALMA antennas are in action, working as one giant telescope, during the observatory’s first phase of scientific observations. On the far left, a cluster of smaller 7-metre antennas for ALMA’s compact array can be seen illuminated. The Moon casts stark shadows over all the antennas.