 The Submillimeter Array | |
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| Part of | Event Horizon Telescope Mauna Kea Observatories  |
|---|---|
| Location(s) | Hawaii County, Hawaii |
| Coordinates | 19°49′27″N 155°28′41″W / 19.8243°N 155.478°W |
| Organization | Academia Sinica Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory |
| Altitude | 4,080 m (13,390 ft) |
| Wavelength | 0.717 mm (418 GHz)–1.67 mm (180 GHz) |
| Telescope style | radio interferometer |
| Number of telescopes | 8 |
| Diameter | 6 m (19 ft 8 in) |
| Website | www |
  Location of Submillimeter Array | |
 Related media on Commons | |
The Submillimeter Array (SMA) consists of eight 6-meter (20 ft) diameter radio telescopes arranged as an interferometer for submillimeter wavelength observations. It is the first purpose-built submillimeter interferometer, constructed after successful interferometry experiments using the pre-existing 15-meter (49 ft) James Clerk Maxwell Telescope and 10.4-meter (34.1 ft) Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (now decommissioned) as an interferometer. All three of these observatories are located at Mauna Kea Observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and have been operated together as a ten element interferometer in the 230 and 345 GHz bands (eSMA, for extended Submillimeter Array). The baseline lengths presently in use range from 16 to 508 meters (52 to 1,667 ft). The radio frequencies accessible to this telescope range from 194–408 gigahertz (1.545–0.735 mm) which includes rotational transitions of dozens of molecular species as well as continuum emission from interstellar dust grains. Although the array is capable of operating both day and night, most of the observations take place at nighttime when the atmospheric phase stability is best.
The SMA is jointly operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA).