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Why was ALMA built on the high Chajnantor plateau in Chile?
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Radio telescope
Lovell Telescope, a fully steerable radio telescope at Jodrell Bank, Macclesfield, Cheshire, England.
The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) was constructed on the high Chajnantor plateau in Chile primarily to optimize its ability to detect radiation at millimetre and submillimetre wavelengths.1
Radio telescopes designed for these specific wavelengths are frequently situated at high elevations, such as the 5,000-metre (16,500-foot) altitude of the Chajnantor plateau, because these locations provide clear skies that minimize the absorption and distortion of incoming astronomical signals by the Earth's atmosphere. By operating at such a high, arid site, ALMA can more effectively observe distant galaxies formed shortly after the big bang and detect radiation from dust and gas during the formation of extrasolar planets.21