2009 News

On November 5th 2009, first fringes on the high-altitude site were obtained with the band 7 receivers, measuring the continuum emission of a bright quasar, 3C454.3. The result testifies for the high quality and performances of IRAM receivers, which exhibit noise figures well below the initial ALMA specifications. With its highly recognized expertise, IRAM is one of the major partners in the construction of ALMA, a giant radio observatory in the Chilean desert...

The photo shows Grenoble's mayor, Michel Destot, and Geneviève Fioraso, Member of the French Parliament, during their visit of the IRAM exhibition stand at the "Village des Sciences de Grenoble 2009". During 4 days and on the occasion of the French "Fête de la Science", IRAM staff members, astronomers and engineers were explaining IRAM's activities to a general public...

The updated program is now online. For more information on the program and how to reach the conference center use the button below.

Astronomers use an exceptionally cold gas cloud in space to measure the structure of molecules to a precision that cannot be attained in the laboratory. With the IRAM 30-meter telescope they observed...

We will use the IRAM 30m telescope to observe planets, stars, dusty clouds, and whole galaxies, out to the most distant objects known today. On the way, we will discuss the key science questions on the one hand, and calibration and observing techniques on the other hand...

ESA, the European space agency will soon launch two new scientific satellites for astronomy in a combined mission with its heavy load carrier Ariane 5. Both of them, Planck and Herschel, are equipped with the latest high technology from the Grenoble area. In particular the Herschel Space Observatory (HSO) will embark super-conducting detectors which have been designed and manufactured at the IRAM laboratories.

When galaxies are born, do their stars form everywhere at once, or only within a small core region? Recent measurements with the Plateau de Bure Interferometer provide the first concrete evidence that star-forming regions in infant galaxies are indeed small - but also hyperactive, producing stars at astonishingly high rates.