The next Call for Proposals for observing time with ALMA (Cycle 12) is anticipated to be issued on 20 March 2025, with a deadline on 25 April 2025. As a focal point during the proposal preparation period, the German ARC node cordially invites its community to gather for the German ALMA Community Day 2025 at the Argelander-Institut für Astronomie in Bonn on Friday, 4 April 2025.

In preparation for the upcoming ALMA proposal deadline (April 24), the Nordic ARC node is preparing a few events to which the community is invited. On April 1 and 10, we meet at Chalmers University, Gothenburg (Sweden), for two in-person proposal preparation events. And for April 8-9 we are preparing and ALMA proposal preparation workshop at the University of Helsinki, Finland. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Lunch session LS6 on "The ALMA 2030 Wideband Sensitivity Upgrade: status update" will take place on the 26th of June, during the European Astronomical Society (EAS) 2025 annual meeting in Cork (Ireland). 

Key dates have been announced for early proposal planning for Cycle 12.

Following the announcement from ESO about the start of the search for its next astronomical ground-based programme for the 2040s (https://next.eso.org/), the community is getting organised to prepare the science case for a potential facility in the 2040s ('ALMA 2040'), building upon the successes of the current ALMA Observatory. 

The Science Verification data for Orion KL observed from 2024 April 26 to April 28 are now available on the Science Portal. The data were obtained in the spectral scan mode in Band 1, with the total on-source time of about 129 minutes.

Numerous ALMA staff worldwide remain actively involved in the preparation of the ALMA Wideband Sensitivity Upgrade (WSU). Regarding the advancement of development projects within the ALMA regions, the Data Transmission System successfully completed its Preliminary Design Review in Japan in October. Additionally, the Conceptual Design Review and the System Requirement Review for the Total Power GPU Spectrometer were also passed in October.

The BRAIN study pioneers the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to ALMA data, redefining imaging processes. By addressing challenges like extended emission detection and computational efficiency, the study introduces cutting-edge tools - RESOLVE and DeepFocus - to improve imaging quality and speed.