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Prototype Telescopes Complete Key Test

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the if-this-trend-continues dept.

Matthew Sparkes writes "Two prototype antennas for the world's largest array of millimeter-wave telescopes have passed a key test, working to track and image Saturn for more than an hour. Ultimately, ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) is expected to resolve details 10 times finer than the Hubble Space Telescope when it is completed in 2012."

1 of 78 comments (clear)

  1. Re:More embargo than censorship. by Greg+Lindahl · · Score: 5, Informative

    The astronomy community does exactly what you're asking for, you're just not listening:

    * The data is made available to everyone after a short time delay

    * The software to reduce the data is given away for free

    * Our papers are generally available for free at http://lanl.arxiv.org/

    The point of the short delay is that the person who made the effort to write the proposal to get the telescope time deserves a reward: a short time to write the first paper about the results.

    If you look at other branches of science, they aren't nearly as good. But you're flaming your friends.