Submillimetre astronomy

Other sources include protoplanetary discs, dusty starburst galaxies in the early Universe, immediate environments surrounding AGN, and secondary anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background.

[1][4] By studying foreground elements of the CMB and environments around SMBHs, submillimetre astronomy can also be used to constrain models of quantum gravity and to investigate the role of gravitational waves and relativistic neutrinos in the early Universe.

The ideal submillimetre observing site is dry, cool, has stable weather conditions and is away from urban population centres.

[7][8] The Llano de Chajnantor Observatory site hosts the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX), the largest submillimetre telescope operating in the southern hemisphere, and the world's largest ground based astronomy project, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), an interferometer for submillimetre wavelength observations made of 54 12-metre and 12 7-metre radio telescopes.

[9] [citation needed] Space-based observations at the submillimetre wavelengths remove the ground-based limitations of atmospheric absorption.

The Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) was launched into low Earth orbit on December 5, 1998 as one of NASA's Small Explorer Program (SMEX) missions.

The Caltech Submillimeter Observatory at Mauna Kea Observatory was commissioned in 1988, and has a 10.4 m (34 ft) dish
Panoramic view of the Chajnantor plateau, spanning about 180 degrees from north (on the left) to south (on the right) shows the antennas of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array .