Protecting the Night Sky: ALMA Stands with ESO in the Fight Against Light Pollution
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Protecting the Night Sky: ALMA Stands with ESO in the Fight Against Light Pollution

11 January, 2025 / Read time: 2 minutes

The ALMA Observatory is privileged to conduct scientific observations of the Universe under the pristine skies of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, benefiting from one of the highest-quality astronomical sites on Earth. While its high-altitude, isolated location, and focus on radio astronomy shield it from many impacts of light pollution, preserving dark skies is a global challenge that affects all observatories and humanity’s ability to explore the universe.

ALMA and its partners AUI/NRAO and NAOJ support ESO in addressing the growing threat of light pollution near the Paranal Observatory and the ELT in the Antofagasta Region in Chile. Their commitment highlights the urgency of ensuring the long-term sustainability of astronomical observations in Chile. ALMA stands in solidarity with these efforts, reaffirming the importance of collaboration in protecting this invaluable natural resource.

As part of its efforts to protect the night sky, the ALMA observatory promotes all initiatives—at both the national and local levels—to adopt measures that reduce light pollution. It is crucial to ensure that future generations can continue to observe the night sky to enhance humanity’s understanding of the cosmos.

Additional Information

ALMA is a partnership of ESO (representing its member states), NSF (USA) and NINS (Japan), together with NRC (Canada), NSTC and ASIAA (Taiwan), and KASI (Republic of Korea), in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The Joint ALMA Observatory is operated by ESO, AUI/NRAO and NAOJ.

Credit: ESO/P. Horálek

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