The observatories at Chajnantor

This video shows the ALMA Array Operations Site (AOS) on the Chajnantor plateau in northern Chile.

In this desert setting that hardly resembles a typical view of our planet, astronomers find the best conditions to observe the coolest and the most distant objects in the Universe.

On the right we see the 12-metre diameter antenna of APEX, the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment, operative at Chajnantor since 2005; moving to the left, the AOS Technical Building and the first antennas for ALMA are visible. 

In the background, the 5920 m Licancabur volcano dominates the landscape.