Crux Watches Over ALMA

This stunning photograph shows some of the antennas comprising the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), all observing a panoramic view of the Milky Way’s centre. There is far more to ALMA than shown here; the array can span distances of up to 16 kilometres and is formed of 66 individual antennas!

Some features visible in the sky include Crux (The Southern Cross) just above and to the right of the nearest antenna, and the Carina Nebula slightly further to the right.

Astronomers use ALMA to peer into gigantic star-forming molecular clouds, and to observe galaxies forming at the very edge of the observable Universe. The green lights visible on the telescopes are a normal part of their operation, but in this scene they also cast an ethereal, otherworldly glow over the Chilean site.

This photograph was taken by Petr Horálek, one of our ESO Photo Ambassadors.