I get asked quite often if at ALMA we see any "signs" of extraterrestrial life, UFOs (OVNIs in Spanish), communication from outer space. This post is not about that kind of signs. This is about the real, physical, signs that caught my attention while taking a short walk around the ALMA operations site one day. And the stories they tell about the life cycle of the ALMA project.
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| ALMA operates 24 hours, because we can detect radio waves from the stars, planets, galaxies, outer space all the time. Most of the manpower at ALMA is on duty during normal human working hours, but astronomers, telescope operators, some engineers, guards, some kitchen staff, etc, share responsibility for all of the necessary operations to keep the observatory functioning 24 hours. Astronomers work one of three shifts: morning (6am-4pm), day (1:30pm-11:30pm), and night (10:30 pm-6:30am). Signs around the hotel rooms remind passersby that someone is always sleeping, even when the sun is shining bright. Sleep is not easy in the desert at 3000m elevation, but still the day sleepers need plenty of rest to keep the telescope running through the nighttime hours. |
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| During the construction phase at ALMA, antennas were being assembled at the Operations Support Facility in one of three "camps", before being tested and transported to the high site so that they could function as part of the telescope array. The three camps belong to the European (AEM), Japanese (Melco), and North American (Vertex) teams responsible for contributing a previously agreed-upon quantity of antennas. Back in 2012, I toured each of these camps, learning the subtle and less-subtle differences in each antenna and its assembly. Each group developed their own design, ensuring that the final product met certain predetermined specifications so that the antennas function together in the array. (To me, this is the most beautiful example of international collaboration to advance science, and also cultural understanding.) Here you see one of the signs that has undergone wear and tear from the harsh desert during the years that the European antennas were being assembled. The 25 European antennas have now been delivered and accepted as part of the array, functioning as an integral part of the telescope project. The antenna camp behind this sign is rather quiet, a sign of progress! |
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| This is just one of a number of safety signs around the site, this one at the entrance to the European antenna camp.Signs are typically presented in spanish and English (sometimes Japanese), although the translations aren't always direct. But the point gets across, even from the pictures. For the record, my job as astronomer does not require any of the precautions in the first row! We are quite safe and pampered in the control room. There are even cookies delivered twice a day, and an espresso machine operating at all hours. |
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| We see this sign near the safety room as we approach the control building. I don't actually know what it implies, or what counts as an "accident". But the message to "keep your mind on the task" is a good one. In fact, more philosophically, I was reflecting on what I enjoy so much about my shifts at ALMA. In spite of the long work hours and the fairly extreme environment (dirt everywhere, you can see), I feel invigorated at ALMA because we are all working together on one task, alert to the responsibility granted to function a billion dollar telescope project. When I'm in the control room, there is just one task at hand: observe (in the active rather than passive sense). |
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| It's not a sign, but this sticker greets everyone who stays in a room at ALMA ("relax, your towels are clean"). Rooms are comfortable and private, with daily housekeeping service! For now the facilities are basic, temporary, shipping-container-esque. Rest assured, a fancy new "residencia" (hotel facility) is under construction. For an idea of what it might be like, check out the equivalent facility at Paranal Observatory, featured (and exploded) in the James Bond movie "Quantum of Solace". |
Disclaimer: In the end, my photo tour does not represent all signs of "life" at ALMA, but just what seemed worthy of a quick photo op. I thought to perhaps extend this "photos of signs" series, until I became distracted with other projects (the type more directly related to telescope operations). So I document what I have thus far. My second "turno" as an ESO fellow at ALMA.
