Surprising Science — March 10, 2014

ALMA’s Astonishing Discoveries

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

On Sunday, 60 Minutes featured a fascinating segment on ALMA, a $13 billion radio telescope in the Antofagasta Region of Chile that allows scientists to study the origins of our universe.

Nineteen different countries are represented in this Herculean enterprise–the most ambitious astronomical project on earth. ALMA can see colors that humans can’t, and it takes researchers farther back in space and time than previously imagined.

Watch this video about this incredible international effort and ALMA’s mind-blowing potential:

Image credit: ALMA Press Room

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

A map of a cluster of stars illustrating star birth.

Starts With A Bang

Star clusters give birth like dogs, not humans, ALMA shows

Here in our Solar System, we only have one star: a singlet. For many systems, including the highest-mass ones, that’s anything but the norm.

Starts With A Bang

How much energy does the Sun produce?

Figuring out the answer involved a prism, a pail of water, and a 50 year effort by the most famous father-son astronomer duo ever.

Saturn is shown in one image, while Neptune is shown in a different image.

Starts With A Bang

JWST’s new and improved exam of Uranus shines

As Uranus approaches its solstice, its polar caps, rings, and moons come into their best focus ever under JWST’s watchful eye. See it now!

Starts With A Bang

Most distant black hole raises a huge cosmic question

With JWST, Chandra, and gravitational lensing combined, evidence has emerged for the earliest black hole ever. And wow, is it a surprise!

Starts With A Bang

Euclid’s first science images reveal what JWST cannot

Sometimes, going “deeper” doesn’t reveal the answers you seek. By viewing more Universe with better precision, ESA’s Euclid mission shines.

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