Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy

telescope array, Big Pine, California, United States

Also known as: CARMA

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July 19, 2026

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The Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) was a radio telescope array situated near Big Pine, California. It was designed to study phenomena at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths, which are crucial for observing the formation of stars and galaxies. Operating at these wavelengths presents significant challenges, requiring instruments to be located at high, dry altitudes to minimize atmospheric distortion of signals. CARMA was one of several prominent millimeter interferometers and arrays, alongside facilities in France and Japan.1

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radio telescope
Radio telescope arrays
…interferometers and arrays are the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) near Big Pine, California, the IRAM Plateau de Bure facility in France, and the Japanese Nobeyama Radio Observatory. In 2003 the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, in collaboration with the Academia Sinica of Taiwan, completed the Submillimeter Array…
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…interferometers and arrays are the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) near Big Pine, California, the IRAM Plateau de Bure facility in France, and the Japanese Nobeyama Radio Observatory. In 2003 the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, in collaboration with the Academia Sinica of Taiwan, completed the Submillimeter Array…
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