Giant space observatory to probe Big Bang light

In a super-arid desert at an altitude of 5,000m, with almost no humidity or vegetation, the world’s largest ground-based astronomy project opened for business yesterday — ready to probe the universe with unprecedented might.

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, or Alma, will search for clues about the dawn of the cosmos — from the coldest gases and dust where galaxies are formed to the energy produced by the Big Bang.

It is so powerful, the telescope will be able to look through the dense dust clouds of deep space, allowing astronomers a glimpse of galaxies from 12bn years ago.