The Atacama Large Millimeter Array : ALMA Observatory by Adele Plunkett

My position as “fellow” at ESO includes 50% of my work time dedicated to operations of the ALMA observatory, which in practice sends me to the ALMA observatory “Operations Support Facility” (OSF) about once every month or two.  We call these shifts “turnos”, as is the case at Paranal (link to Pascale post).  At ALMA, the astronomer’s turno lasts 8 days (Monday to Monday, or Wednesday to Wednesday, typically). 

Image: google, ESO

ALMA is located in the Atacama Desert in the north of Chile, about 30 km from the tourist village San Pedro de Atacama.  In relation to Paranal (another important ESO site), ALMA is located to the northeast, near to the border with Bolivia.  To arrive to ALMA, we fly from Santiago to Calama (an important mining city), and from there we take a charter bus to OSF.  Door to door, the trip can take 5-6 hours. 

Credit:

ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), W. Garnier (ALMA). Acknowledgment: General Dynamics C4 Systems

ALMA OSF is situated in the hillside at an elevation of 2900 meters above sea level.  For reference, the ALMA antennas are located at the “Array Operations Site” (AOS), about 25 km from OSF and at an elevation of 5000 meters.  Even though the OSF at 2900 m is much more hospitable than the Chajnantor Plateau at 5000 m, during the first few days at OSF it’s important to drink plenty of water, eat light meals, and try to rest even though sometimes sleeping is disrupted by the lower oxygen content.  

The astronomers work in three shifts to cover observations throughout 24 hours per day: morning (6:00-16:00), day (13:00-23:30), and night (22:30-6:30).  Typically, we work with one or two astronomers on duty (AoD), along side two antenna operators. Among astronomers, a slight minority are women; and among the antenna operators, only one is a woman.  The women in the engineering and computing groups are also a minority.  It’s not unusual to spend a week in the control room without many female co-workers.  Nonetheless, more females work at the OSF in the groups/roles of administration and hospitality (this is a non-exhaustive list, the point being that there are women at the OSF, but in certain groups they are the minority).  It has been important to intentionally make contact with the other women at the ALMA OSF, because otherwise we stay busy and focused only on work, and we lose the possible camaraderie and support of the others outside the control room.  For example, I have seen women bring or share toiletries with others who forgot something during the shift. 

Now I explain a typical day, i.e. today (a day in October, 2017).  During this turno, I have the morning AoD shift.

Credit: Adele Plunkett

6:00 — Arrive to the control room (sala de control), where the night shift astronomers will soon finish at 6:30 am.  During this time of “handover", they explain to me the observations of the previous night, including any problems they had with the observations.  They show me the current observations, so that ideally when I take their place, the observations continue smoothly.

Credit: Adele Plunkett

8:15 — Around this time, the AoD lead arrives for a daily meeting, and with him/her I share an update about how observations are going.  At ALMA, we run projects from a “queue”, or a prioritized list of projects. The projects have been ranked through an annual proposal review process, and given the weather conditions and the array configuration, we choose the highest-ranked projects with sources above a certain elevation.  On a given day, we might observe projects for astronomers from all over the world, covering all science categories (link) of the ALMA project.  

13:00 — The day shift AoD arrives, and along with the AoD lead, we balance responsibilities for the observations.  Sometimes we have to monitor many screens of data and up to 3 separate observations at once.  Other times it can be much simpler, and/or we get “in the zone” and can handle the process smoothly.  While observations are running, we should monitor the current execution, including weather, antenna status, and signal correlation.  Once a project finishes (and while the next one runs), we perform the first stage of a procedure called “quality assurance” (QA), and in case the observation is marked a success, then it passes to the next stage of QA in Santiago, or at an ALMA Regional Center (or node) somewhere in the world.

15:00 — Daily meeting with AoDs, leads, and astronomers in Santiago (via videocon).  We communicate the success/unsuccess of observations from the previous 24 hours, discuss any issues that arose, explain tests that were run or need to be run, and we make a plan for the coming 24 hours. 

16:00 — My shift is finished.  Since the day shift AoD arrived a few hours ago, and we recently had the daily meeting, the handover happens naturally.  Some shifts have other miscellaneous activities: interviews from journalists, public tours on the weekend (http://www.almaobservatory.org/en/outreach/alma-observatory-public-visits/), safety courses like how to drive 4x4 in emergency situations.  Being an astronomer can incorporate many (interesting and exciting) skills.

PM — What to do in the arid desert, separated from any town or “public” activities, yet with access to internet and an incredible natural playground?  Option 1 is to keep the “workflow" momentum, and transition to work on personal research.  Working from the site of an extremely advanced telescope, surrounded by experts in all the details, is motivating; it seems that intelligent and technical thoughts are in the air.  Option 2 is to disconnect entirely from computer monitors and data.  My preference is to spend at least 1 hour outdoors every day, of course with the proper sun protection and water supply.  I like to trail run, take a walk towards the canyons and cacti, or borrow a mountain bike to use on the surrounding dirt roads.  Here we have privileged access to experience the beauty of the Atacama Desert in our “free time”, I will never forget to be grateful for this.  Other exercise options (not outdoors, but still invigorating) include the new swimming pool and updated gym space.  Of course, I’ve been enjoying the novelty of finishing my exercise in the new sauna!  

Credit: Pablo Carrillo

The new facilities I mentioned are provided by the recently constructed “residencia” (our hotel space).  The residencia includes the hotel rooms where we stay, reception, cafeteria (to be opened soon), exercise facilities, laundry, and lounge space.  Remember that many ALMA employees work shifts of 8 days on, 6 days off, and repeat.  In other words, they spend about half of their lives “living” at ALMA!  The idea of the residencia is to enhance the “quality of life” for the workers, and in general I see it working.  In the gym or other common spaces, we can cross paths with coworkers outside of “work-mode”.  

True, a woman at the gym or in the swimming pool, or running or mountain biking, naturally catches the attention of the others here as something “different”.  But, it can also spark conversations with other athletic coworkers, male or female, to find common ground and share experiences.  Recent conversations during this shift began: “What race are you training for now?”, “One of the engineers is going biking today, maybe you could join him,” and “One of my coworkers trains for trail runs, he has a race this weekend.” ALMA also organizes twice annual “corridas” (fun runs) on the hilly loop around the facilities.  What I learned (after some time trying to secretively do exercises with no one noticing) is that it’s best to do what I enjoy and be myself here.  Sometimes being a minority (North American female, there are very few of us here) gives me more freedom, because I don’t have to live up to anyone’s expectations.  They don’t know what to expect!  

Photo: Pablo Carrillo

18:30 — I try to have an early dinner, so that I can also get to sleep early.  There will always be complaints about institutional food, but in my opinion, I appreciate immensely that a team is cooking for me and cleaning my dishes after each meal.  The food has evolved over the years to have several choices: salad bar where I can load up as much as I want, a vegetarian option, pasta and/or rice, and typically a few meats (including a fish option).  Plus dessert!!  My favorite spot is the patio where I can watch the sunset.

20:00-21:00 — When I’m on morning shift, I have to make an effort to get my (preferred) 8 hours of sleep.  Otherwise the next day by 4 pm I’ll be dragging.  There’s still some time for Netflix, or reading, or some other little hobby before lights out.

Daniela Soto Martinez - Array Operator at ALMA

1- Present yourself : who you are + describe your job

I am Daniela Soto Martinez, I work as Array Operator at ALMA Observatory.

2- Can you explain your study + professional paths?

I am physics Engineer from Universidad de Santiago de Chile.

3- How long have you been working in an observatory?

I started at ALMA in May 2016, it is my first experience in an observatory. Before that I worked for six years in a Chilean Geophysics Company.

4- Pros and Cons (Likes/Dislikes) of your life in an observatory?

It is a great place to work. Here you find people from different countries and cultures, which makes this place dynamics and the pleasant work environment. But it also hard because of the high geographic elevation and travel to the shifts weekly, leaving family at home.

5- What is the funniest thing that has happened to you at the observatory?

I think the funniest thing that I have lived at ALMA is participate in the “Corrida” two times, for May 21 and September 18, although it is very hard, it is a very nice moment to share with ALMA people and enjoy together.

6- What is the scariest thing that has happened to you at the observatory?

I don’t know. Some very personal things for me was naturally produced, like when I felt the first earthquake here, it move a lot the ground… other was the storms and rays in December 2016, very scary I think. But nothing so bad has happened.

7- When was a time that you weren't sure if you could do something, but you did it?

I think at the beginning, the first time I had to operate alone. It happened when I was in training period yet, and nobody else of my group was at the observatory to support me. But at the end I did it successfully and nothing bad happened.

8- What advice would you give to someone interested in working at an observatory? Anything specifically if they are a woman?

My advice is not be afraid about work in an observatory, is maybe a different job, but it is a great opportunity to grow personally and professionally. Also is a very interesting and unique job.

9- What do you do for fun at the observatory?

I try to practise sport when I ‘m here, to spend free time. I usually try to use the gym, but also with other guys we join to play football and volleyball sometimes.

10- What do you do for fun when you're *not* at the observatory?

At home I enjoy to be with my family and work together in our house, we are remodelling, so every moment we have we spend it there.

Nidia Morrell - Astronomer at Las Campanas Observatory

1- Present yourself : who you are + describe your job

I am a resident astronomer at Las Campanas Observatory. My job is quite diverse: I help with service observations for Carnegie astronomers, I help to keep the du Pont and Swope instrumentation manuals up to date (kind of... I am always behind); I participate in engineering runs. Sometimes (like now) I replace du Pont telescope operators; I eventually help people in getting started on their observing runs or answer their questions while preparing observing proposals, or give advice on data reductions for the instruments I am familiar with. But I am also a member of the Carnegie Supernova Project, and work on some other research projects in collaboration with astronomers from Chile and abroad (those are related to massive stars research).

2- Can you explain your study + professional paths?

I've got a Licenciado (1977) and  PhD (1984) degrees in Astronomy from the University of La Plata, in Argentina, where I worked since my graduation until I moved to Las Campanas in 2002. In the meanwhile I only left La Plata once for a 2-year stay at Kitt Peak National Observatory (1989 and 1990) where I worked with Helmut Abt  as a CONICET fellow. Back in La Plata in early 1991 I combined teaching, research,  and Licenciado (Master) and PhD thesis advising for many years. My research has focused on young stars in open clusters, and massive binary properties. I did most of my observations at Cerro Tololo, starting back in 1978 (if someone is interested, I am now 64), and then at Complejo Astronomico El Leoncito (CASLEO, Argentina) where the 2.15-m Sahade telescope began operations in 1985. I always wondered how nice would be working at an observatory permanently. In October 2002 I joined the staff of Las Campanas  as a visiting scientist, soon after I started my participation in  the Carnegie Supernova Project, and after several years I became a resident astronomer.

3- How long have you been working in an observatory?

The answer to this has already been given: almost 15 years now.

4- Pros and Cons (Likes/Dislikes) of your life in an observatory?

I just love the observatory and working here. Observing is the favourite part of my job. I love the mountain, the silence, the work I do at night. The cons are that sometimes I have no time for other things, such as taking care of my house, or going for trekking excursions; and I certainly would like to see my family more ofen: I have 2 kids and 6 grandchildren who all live in Argentina.

5- What is the funniest thing that has happened to you at the observatory?

Everything is fun here. I was here when the  IMACS instrument was installed, I have seen the first light of MIKE and even took data for my own projects and for a graduate student from La Plata during some of those very first nights on that beautiful instrument. At times I observe alone at du Pont (being both the observer and the telescope operator) and that is also great.

6- What is the scariest thing that has happened to you at the observatory?

I tend to get scared when something goes wrong with the telescope or the instruemt and I believe I should be able to understand what's going on. I wish I would know a lot more about the instruments themselves, not just how to take data with them, as I usually do. I get scared, but I call the technicians and most of the times they can fix the problem and observations are resumed.  

7- When was a time that you weren't sure if you could do something, but you did it?

That happens many times, at first I never know whether I will be able to do things.

In line with my previous answer, when I was asked for the first time if I would be willing to replace a telescope operator for a week, I definitely wanted to do that, but also I wondered if I would be able to fulfill the expectations. I had seen the telescope operators working for years, but performing their job myself was a different thing. Fortunately, everybody in the technical staff were very helpful and supportive and things turned around smoothly. Since then, I am happy to replace du Pont telescope operators whenever it is needed.

8- What advice would you give to someone interested in working at an observatory? Anything specifically if they are a woman?

If you feel like you'd enjoy working at an observatory, you should give it a try. It is great. You  learn things, you get in touch with great, extremely clever people, you learn how to use new instruments.

You never get bored!

I don't see why should it be different for men or women.

9- What do you do for fun at the observatory?

I love walking around, for example from du Pont telescope to the Astronomers Support Building, or to the dinning room. I also love reading books; and of course working on my own projects when time allows.

10- What do you do for fun when you're *not* at the observatory?

I meet with friends for dinner, I take care of my house, my plants, I read books, I watch movies, I cook. I also go trekking sometimes.

Celia Verdugo - Data Analyst at ALMA

1- Present yourself : who you are + describe your job

My name is Celia Verdugo and I’m an astronomer working at ALMA as a Data Analyst. When I’m at the observatory (1-2 weeks per month) I have a role of Astronomer on Duty (AoD), and I take care of the observations, of scheduling projects and doing first quality assessment of the data. The rest of the time I am at the headquarters in Santiago, were I reduce and analyze calibration data that will be later used for the science observations.

2- Can you explain your study + professional paths?

I did both my Bachelor and my Master in Science with Astronomy mention at the University of Chile, 7 year is total. Then I moved to France to do my Phd at the Observatory of Paris, for 3 years. Right after I graduated, I moved back to Chile and started working here at ALMA

3- How long have you been working in an observatory?

Two years now.

4- Pros and Cons (Likes/Dislikes) of your life in an observatory?

I like very much working as an AoD. It is what I enjoy the most of my work, taking care of the observations at the control room. And it is always nice to spend some time at the Atacama desert, a beautiful and quiet place. But of course, It is not easy to spend so much time away from home. The largest difficulty is to balance work and family in a ‘shift’ type of working life.

5- What is the funniest thing that has happened to you at the observatory?

Well, now I think it’s funny, but at the time I think I must have pissed off a lot of people, when I accidentally turned on the fire alarm of my bedroom by leaving the humidifier on the entire night. I woke up every one in my corridor at 3AM.

6- What is the scariest thing that has happened to you at the observatory?

I don’t think anything really scary has ever happened to me, but of course, here in Chile we always have to be alert of earthquakes. The last big one I felt on the  observatory was due to a high volcanic activity.

 

7- When was a time that you weren't sure if you could do something, but you did it?

One time I joined the astrophotography group to a night session at the high site, at 5000m of altitude, and I was worried about driving at night, because the road is very difficult, and I didn’t have any experience driving on high mountain. In general, I’m a bit insecure about my driving skills, so normamlly under these circumstances I was quite nervous, but luckily I pulled through and ended up taking some beautiful pictures of the night sky.

8- What advice would you give to someone interested in working at an observatory? Anything specifically if they are a woman?

I would definitely say that, for a woman, and observatory is a good and confortable place to work in, but due to the large gender disparity, It is still a place with male majority, and we should always be alert to any kind of “funny” jokes or comments, which can be said with and innocent intention, but end up being sexiest anyway. Even though they are very rare, I always try to put and end to those “jokes” right from the start, no matter how “innocent” they might be.

9- What do you do for fun at the observatory?

I go to the gym, watch TV, read a book, or go to San Pedro for a few hours.

10- What do you do for fun when you're *not* at the observatory?

I normally go out with friends and boyfriend, visit the family in the countryside, of have people over at my place for food and drinks.