ALMA Cycle 7 Science Observations Status Update

Dear colleagues,

PI science observations have been continuing with the 12-m and Morita Arrays. As reported in the previous status update on 15 July, there was a delay in the antenna configuration schedule due to the bad weather since May in addition to the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. There were no further delays since then, and the relocation to the hybrid C43-9/10 configuration was completed on 1 September, 2021. All C43-10 projects in the observing queue are expected to meet the beam criteria when observed in this hybrid configuration. ALMA will stay in the C43-9/10 configuration for approximately 2 weeks, enabling the highest angular resolution observations in Cycle 7. The configuration will then move back to C43-8, aiming for the smooth transition to the start of the Cycle 8 2021 on 1 October, 2021.

The ALMA Regional Centers continue to provide support to all ALMA users. If you have any questions, comments or concerns related to your projects or the situation at ALMA, please contact the ALMA Helpdesk at https://help.almascience.org/.

We wish you and your families to stay safe and healthy.