Associated Universities, Inc., (AUI) is a not-for-profit science management corporation that currently operates the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) under a Cooperative Agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF) and is the North American executive for the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), an international astronomy facility under construction in Chile. Corporate headquarters are located in Washington, DC. The President is its Chief Executive Officer.
Featured Image: Elements of the Calibration Device were installed on the Front End and tested as the first receiver package was readied for installation.

News


  • Committee on the Future of U.S. Radio Astronomy Final Report
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November 10, 2008

Committee on the Future of U.S. Radio Astronomy Final Report Released!

In 2007, AUI convened a Committee on the Future of U.S. Radio Astronomy. The goal of the committee was to consider the likely scientific directions for astronomy and astrophysics in the next decade. The committee’s findings are now available. Read More

Science News

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October 20, 2008

Cosmic Lens Reveals Distant Galactic Violence

By cleverly unraveling the workings of a natural cosmic lens, astronomers have gained a rare glimpse of the violent assembly of a young galaxy in the early Universe... Read More



  • The third prize image combined radio and X-ray data of the remnant of the Supernova of 386 AD. Mallory Roberts of Eureka Scientific, Inc., and Cindy Tam of McGill University, continued the work begun by the ancient Chinese astronomers who observed the supernova explosion. The X-ray data reveals a wind created by a pulsar at the center of the remnant.
  • The second prize winner, Francesco Massaro of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, used radio, optical, and X-ray data to produce a compelling image of the radio galaxy 3C 305 in the constellation Draco.
  • The $1,000 first prize went to Adam Ginsburg of the University of Colorado-Boulder, for a radio-submillimeter-infrared composite of the Milky Way's complex and fascinating central region. The image shows the relationships among hot, massive star formation, supernova remnants, cold molecular gas, and magnetic fields in the region near our Galaxy's central black hole.
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October 18, 2008

2008 AUI/NRAO Image Contest Prize Winners

Associated Universities, Inc. and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory are pleased to announce and congratulate the prize recipients of the 2008 AUI/NRAO Image Contest... Read More



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October 08, 2008

New Research Center Will Free Chemistry from Earth's Bonds

A new research center combining the tools of chemistry and astronomy will use the unique laboratory of interstellar space to free the study of basic chemistry from the restrictive bonds of Earth... Read More



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October 01, 2008

Young Galaxy's Magnetism Surprises Astronomers

Astronomers have made the first direct measurement of the magnetic field in a young, distant galaxy, and the result is a big surprise... Read More



  • Seated, front to back: Barry Clark, Ken Sowinski,
Michael Rupen, Kevin Ryan. Standing, front to rear:
Mark McKinnon, Rick Perley, Hichem Ben Frej.
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August 12, 2008

High-Tech 'Heart' of New-Generation Radio Telescope Passes First Test

The Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA), part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), took a giant step toward completion on August 7 with successful testing of advanced digital hardware designed to combine signals from its upgraded radio-telescope antennas to produce high resolution images of celestial objects... Read More


ALMA Update

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  • Concrete has been received and poured for twenty-five antenna foundations at the 16,500 foot altitude AOS. This number will nearly double by the end of the year.
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October 01, 2008

Construction at the Array Operations Site (AOS)

Concrete has been received and poured for twenty-five antenna foundations at the 16,500 foot altitude AOS. This number will nearly double by the end of the year... Read More



  • Elements of the Calibration Device were installed on the Front End and tested as the first receiver package was readied for installation.
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October 01, 2008

Construction at the Operations Support Facility (OSF)

Elements of the Calibration Device were installed on the Front End and tested as the first receiver package was readied for installation on the Mitsubishi Electric Company antenna No 2, which is undergoing acceptance testing... Read More