The development of a new spectrometer for the Morita Array, which forms part of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), has been approved by the ALMA Board. Developed by Japan, the Morita Array is composed of twelve 7-metre antennas and four 12-metre antennas.
You can read the full text of the announcement in the EU ARC Announcements
Image credit: Denisse Lira – ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)
Contributions from Allegro team are highlighted in the new edition of the European ARC Newsletter.
You can find a summary on the critical work done by a team of Allegro members and JAO staff in the Cone Searches for High-Frequency and Long-Baselines projects, as well as a contribution related to the WVR Scaling Module.
The December 2017 European ARC Newsletter edition is available at this link.
During the last week of September the staff working in all the European ARC nodes had their yearly meeting in Den Dolder (NL) hosted by the Allegro node.
This yearly meeting brings together all the expertise in the network, in an unique occasion that allows us to share our experiences, strengthen our links and discuss pass, present and future developments.
We all are looking forward our next meeting organized by our colleagues at the Czech ARC node.
Picture Credit: A. Borkar
Announcement from the German Node
The German node of the European ALMA Regional Centre (ARC) invites applications for a postdoc position based at Bonn university.
The appointee is expected to support the technical and user support of ALMA, as well as conduct his/her self-defined research (50/50). Depending on his/her expertise, he/she shall work on single-dish integration efforts, including wavelet-based deconvolution tasks, or the development of polarization tools and calibration resources.
The deadline for submission is 1 April 2016.
The position offers the opportunity for research in one of the major centres of radio astronomy in Germany as well as an in-depth involvement in the development and operations of ALMA. The German ARC node is hosted by the universities of Bonn and Cologne and supports ALMA users in Germany and beyond, as well as ALMA operations and development as part of the European ARC network. The position is based at the Argelander-Institute for Astronomy, which comprises diverse research groups in observational and theoretical astrophysics, and maintains close collaborations with the university of Cologne and the Max-Planck-Institute for Radio Astronomy.
The position is available immediately as a limited-term two-year contract, with the possibility of extension based on good performance and renewed funding. The appointee will be employed with all the benefits of an employee in the public sector.
The position requires a PhD in astronomy, physics or a related discipline. Preference will be given to candidates with proven expertise in short spacing corrections, wavelet analysis and/or radio polarization. Experience with radio interferometric data, astronomical development projects and/or user support would be an asset. The German ARC node values diversity in its workforce. Thus, women and other underrepresented minorities are particularly encouraged to apply.
The application should include a CV and a statement of scientific interests, ideally as a single pdf. At least two letters of reference should be submitted. The search will continue until the position is filled; applications arriving before the deadline will be assured of full consideration. For more information. please contact Prof. Frank Bertoldi.
submission address:
Argelander-Institute for Astronomy
Prof. F. Bertoldi
Auf dem Huegel 71
D-53121 Bonn
Germany
bertoldi@astro.uni-bonn.de
Announcement from the Italian Node
11-12 April 2015 – Osservatorio di Radioastronomia Bologna, Italy
In preparation to the ALMA Cycle 4 proposal submission deadline of April 21st, the Italian node of the European ARC is organizing an “ALMA proposal preparation day” to support the ALMA users to prepare their proposals.
11-12th of April
This meeting will be held at the INAF-Osservatorio di Radioastronomia, Bologna, on the 11-12th of April.
During this meeting we will present short tutorials on the ALMA Observing Tool and on proposal preparation. Most of the time will be dedicated to the interaction of the participants with the ARC staff to get support in preparing their own proposals for ALMA Cycle 4.
Participants are invited to bring their own laptop to better participate in the interactive sessions and to directly work on proposal preparation. On request, few computers could be made available by the LOC.
Please notice that this activity is in addition to the usual “face-to-face” support that everybody can request at any time to the Italian ARC node via e-mail to help-desk@alma.inaf.it, or through the ALMA help-desk (register and access via the link “Helpdesk” on the ALMA Science Portal .
Contact:
Jan Brand
Coordinator European ALMA Regional Centre, Italian node
Email: brand@ira.inaf.it
Phone: +39 051 6399372
Announcement from the German Node
To prepare the local astronomical community for Cycle 4, the German ARC node organizes the German ALMA Community Days 2016 at the Argelander-Institut für Astronomie in Bonn on 6-8 April 2016.
The next Call for Proposals for observing time with ALMA (Cycle 4) will be issued in March 2016. The deadline for proposals is expected to be on 21 April 2016, with observations starting in October 2016 (for more details, please see the pre-announcement in this newsletter). To prepare the local astronomical community for Cycle 4, the German ARC node organizes the German ALMA Community Days 2016 at the Argelander-Institut für Astronomie in Bonn on 6-8 April 2016. The first day will feature an introduction to the basic radio astronomical concepts and terminology for non-radio astronomers. The second day will be devoted to practical information on ALMA-related tools and procedures including a hands-on tutorial on the ALMA proposal tool. Participants are encouraged to stay for a third day (8 April) to start preparing their own ALMA proposals with technical support from ARC node staff. While this event is open to all ALMA users and prospective ALMA users, preference will be given to astronomers from the local community (Germany,
Austria, Switzerland).
More information will be posted by late January on the homepage of the German ARC node at https://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/ARC/
Contact
Dr. Stefanie Mühle
Universität Bonn
Argelander-Institut für Astronomie
European ALMA Regional Centre – German node
Auf dem Hügel 71
53121 Bonn
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)228 733662
Email: arc@astro.uni-bonn.de
People interested in proposing VLBI observations with ALMA should be informed that ALMA will participate in some GMVA observations during ALMA Cycle 4 at 3mm wavelengths in the period Oct 1 2016 – Sept 30 2017. More details can be found in the ALMA Cycle 4 Pre-announcement.
The Global 3mm VLBI Array (GMVA) consists of 8 VLBA antennas equipped with 3mm receivers: the 100m GBT, the IRAM 30-m telescope on Pico Veleta (Spain), the phased 6-element IRAM interferometer on Plateau de Bure (France), the MPIfR 100-m radio telescope in Effelsberg (Germany), the OSO 20-m radio telescope at Onsala (Sweden), the 14-m telescope in Metsähovi (Finland), and the OAN 40-m telescope in Yebes (Spain). In addition, telescopes of the Korean VLBI Network (KVN) may now be requested as part of the GMVA. The Large Millimeter Telescope Alfonso Serrano (LMT) in Mexico, for use at 3mm in combination with the GMVA, is offered on a best effort basis.
Part of the GMVA session in 2017 will overlap with Cycle 4 time slots dedicated to GMVA + ALMA observing. In additio, to submitting a proposal to ALMA before the deadline in April 2016, users who wish to apply for ALMA Band 3 VLBI observations must also submit a GMVA proposal submitted via the NRAO Proposal Submission Tool before the 1 February 2016 deadline.
People who will like to use this opportunity can consult the ALMA Science Portal.
Announcement from the German Node
The course “Radio Interferometry: Methods and Science”, held in English at the university of Bonn in April-July 2016, offers a hands-on overview of major aspects of radio/mm/submm interferometry for master students, PhD students and senior astronomers. The course also comprises hands-on tutorials, where participants learn how to reduce interferometric data with the widely used astronomical software packages AIPS and CASA.
The lectures start with a general introduction to radio interferometry and data reduction, followed by an overview of various fields of research and the special observing modes that they require, given by experts of the respective fields. The latest developments of selected world-leading radio/mm/submm interferometers will be presented as well.
Master students enrolled at the universities of Bonn and Cologne can take this course for credit. Other students and senior astronomers interested in the topic are very welcome to attend as well. We will offer remote access to the lectures and tutorials on a best efforts basis. Remote connections are in general possible to any European astronomical institutes, however, preference will be given to institutes from the local community (Germany, Austria, Switzerland). If you would like to follow the course from a remote location, please contact us before 1 April.
More information will be posted by late January on the homepage of the German ARC node at https://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/ARC/
Contact
Dr. Stefanie Mühle
Universität Bonn
Argelander-Institut für Astronomie
European ALMA Regional Centre – German node
Auf dem Hügel 71
53121 Bonn
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)228 733662
Email: arc@astro.uni-bonn.de
Picture
Credit: A. Sanchez-Monge