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German ALMA Regional Centre (ARC) Node
The Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) is the globally leading interferometer for mm and submm astronomy in the Atacama desert in Northern Chile. It is operated by a global collaboration between Europe (ESO), North America (NRAO) and East Asia (NAOJ), in cooperation with Chile. The interface between ALMA and the user communities is provided by three ALMA Regional Centres (ARCs) in Europe, North America and East Asia.
The European ARC (EU ARC) is organized as a coordinated network with a central node at ESO Headquarters in Garching bei München and regional nodes located in Bologna(I), Bonn/Cologne(D), Grenoble(F), Leiden(NL), Manchester(GB), Ondrejov(CZ), and Onsala(S). The concept and the implementation of the EU ARC network has been described in an article in the ESO Messenger (Hatziminaoglou et al. 2015, Msngr. 162, 24).
The German ARC node is a collaboration of the universities of Bonn and Cologne. Its headquarters are located at the Argelander-Institut für Astronomie in Bonn. The German ARC node provides services to ALMA operations, the local astronomical community and the general public:
- User support
- Technical development
- Operational support
- Training and Outreach to the Scientific and Public Community
Newsletters and Announcements
Recent News
NEW in Cycle 13: Web-OT for DDT proposals
[latest update 29 October 2026]The ALMA Observatory allocates up to 5% of observing time per Cycle to Director’s Discretionary Time (DDT) proposals. These are submitted outside the standard proposal review process and are approved at the discretion of the ALMA Director. From the beginning of Cycle 13, DDT proposals are to be submitted via the web-based ALMA Observing Tool of the corresponding cycle. More information about DDT proposals can be found on the dedicated DDT page on the Science portal.
NEW in Cycle 13: Phase 2 Information now in SnooPI
[latest update 29 October 2026]Phase 2 information for approved programs are now shown to PIs through the Snooping Project Interface (SnooPI) after the Scheduling Blocks (SBs) have been created. SnooPI provides field and spectral information for every science target in each SB (e.g., target coordinates and radial velocities, spectral window frequencies, and correlator setups). Additionally, spatial and spectral visualizers to facilitate displaying this information are also available in SnooPI. These capabilities are similar to what was previously provided through the Phase 2 Observing Tool (OT), which is no longer provided to PIs. More detailed information can be found in the SnooPI User Manual.
New features in the ALMA Science Archive and in the ALMA Pipeline for Cycle 13
[latest update 29 October 2026]The ALMA Science Archive (ASA) has received a substantial feature upgrade, with some features having been worked on for over a decade, including line search, histograms, solar system objects, cut outs and improvements of the request handler. More details can be found in this news item or in the Science Archive Manual.
The 2026 ALMA Pipeline release (version 2026.2.0.27, running on CASA 6.7.4 with Python 3.12) for Cycle 13 include numerous improvememnts as well, with a focus on performance, reliability and clarity in anticipation of the larger data volumes of the Wideband Sensitivity Upgrade (WSU). More details can be found in this news item or in the Pipeline documentation.
Invitation to participate in the ALMA User Survey
[latest update 26 October 2026]We regret to inform you that the ALMA User Survey is currently unavailable due to technical maintenance of the platform. Thank you very much for returning to the survey at a later time!
ALMA is implementing the Wideband Sensitivity Upgrade (WSU) to address the ALMA 2030 Development Roadmap and keep ALMA at the forefront of astronomical discovery. The WSU will bring major observing improvements, including increased instantaneous bandwidth (by at least 2x), improved sensitivity, and higher spectral resolution across wider bandwidths than is currently possible with ALMA.
To help ALMA assess user support needs over the next decade we invite your input via the ALMA user survey. We encourage input from all current, past, and prospective ALMA users. The survey will remain open until 2026-10-31.
Thank you in advance for your contributions to this important process!
Cycle 12 closed with a new record and Cycle 13 started successfully
[latest update 15 October 2026]In the Chilean afternoon of 30 September 2026, Cycle 12 closed and Cycle 13 started successfully. During Cycle 12, ALMA successfully acquired and delivered more than 4700 hours of science-quality data (QA0 PASS) with the 12-m Array and set a new record on all three arrays (12-m, 7-m, and Total Power Arrays). This was achieved despite Cycle 12 having the most observing time lost due to weather in the past decade. Let`s hope for an equally successful Cycle 13!
ALMA Cycle 13 Proposal Review
[latest update 25 September 2026]A detailed report on the outcome of the ALMA Cycle 13 Proposal Review Process is now available here. The report details the proposal review process, proposal statistics and regional distributions, as well as the proposal distribution across science categories and receiver bands. The highest priority Cycle 13 projects are listed at this link.
ALMA reaches 5000 refereed publications
[latest update 27 June 2026]On 27 June 2026, ALMA and its scientific community reached a major scientific milestone with the publication of the 5000th refereed paper based on ALMA data. This achievement comes just 14 years after the start of Early Science operations and reflects ALMA’s extraordinary scientific impact. All of these ALMA publications and data are accessible through the ALMA Science Archive.
ALMA would like to thank and congratulate the many scientific teams and individuals who have made excellent use of ALMA observations in these publications to advance the understanding of our cosmic origins. The scientific impact of ALMA continues to grow. Publications based on ALMA data have accumulated more than 210,000 citations, establishing ALMA as one of the most productive and scientifically impactful astronomical facilities in the world.
ALMA has analysed the refereed ALMA publications in the period from 2012 to 2024. The study analyses publication statistics related to various aspects, e.g., science categories, geographical distribution, archival research, time to publication, publication fraction, and citations. Among other results, the analysis shows that ~70% of observed projects were used in at least one publication, and ALMA publications so far were written by more than 9400 unique authors. The median time to first publication since data delivery is 2.1 years, and ~40% of publications made use of archival data in 2024.
The publication evolution follows that of other high impact observatories as the Hubble Space Telescope and Very Large Telescope. In 2024, the impact factor for ALMA publications, defined as the total number of citations received in a given year stemming from publications of the previous two years, is larger than that of all other major astronomical facilities.
The full publication (Stoehr et al. 2026, PASP) can be found here.
1st announcement: ''ALMA at 15 Years: Science, Synergies, and the Road Ahead'' conference now open for abstract submission
[latest update 19 June 2026]The international conference ''ALMA at 15 Years: Science, Synergies, and the Road Ahead'' will be held in person at Academia Sinica's Nangang campus in Taipei, Taiwan, on 22 - 26 February, 2027. The conference will highlight ALMA's latest results and identify exciting directions for future ALMA research.
The program will feature invited and contributed science presentations, along with updates on the Wideband Sensitivity Upgrade (WSU), tutorial sessions on the archival and CARTA systems, and discussions of future ALMA prospects. Talks and posters presenting scientific work using ALMA and/or its synergies with other facilities across all areas of astronomy are welcome. For more details and registration, please visit the official conference website.
Important Dates:
Abstract Submission Deadline: September 15, 2026
Early-Bird Online-registration Opens: September 30, 2026
Notification of Abstract Acceptance: Late Oct./Early Nov., 2026
Early Bird Online-registration Deadline: November 27, 2026
Online Registration Deadline: January 20, 2027
Expected ALMA capabilities for Cycle 14
[latest update 03 March 2026]The ALMA Observatory is currently planning for the implementation and commissioning of the Wideband Sensitivity Upgrade (https://www.almaobservatory.org/en/scientists/alma-2030-wsu/). The impact on science operations, including PI observations, for future observing cycles is currently being evaluated. However, for Cycle 14, the anticipated top-level capabilities -- including available observing hours and configuration schedule -- remain unchanged. The configuration schedule for Cycle 14 is therefore expected to be similar to that of Cycle 12. The precise information can be found at https://almascience.org/observing/observing-configuration-schedule/long-term-configuration-schedule.
For the capabilities of Cycles 15 and beyond, updates will be provided through the Science Portal once available.