We are happy to announce that ALMA signed a joint proposal agreement with telescopes from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO).

“This is a new service to drive more ambitious science projects that go beyond the capabilities of an individual observatory,” explains Sergio Martin, our Operations Performance Group Manager, who led the Joint Proposals project.

Joint Proposals are dedicated to scientific projects that require two or more observatories to achieve their objectives. A practice that is already common but now has a difference: the principal investigators will not have to request time from each observatory individually. This is a considerable advantage, considering the extra work and risks involved in being rejected at one of the telescopes.

The observatories involved in this agreement are the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the Very Large Telescope (VLT), and the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA).

We are not alone in celebrating these agreements. Patricia Henning, deputy director of New Mexico Operations at NRAO, said, “We are pleased to offer the astronomy community the opportunity to apply for time at two of the world’s leading radio telescopes in a single proposal to carry out new and innovative science projects that require both facilities.”

STScI Associate Director for Science, Neill Reid, highlighted the partnership of JWST and ALMA “as there are powerful scientific synergies that span everything, from planet formation to the early Universe.”

“Many astronomical problems require observing the same objects across the entire electromagnetic spectrum,” adds María Díaz Trigo, ALMA Program Scientist at ESO.

We will begin joint observations in the last quarter of 2023 with Cycle 10. Meanwhile, the JWST observatory, which has already announced its call for proposals, already includes the possibility of joint observations with ALMA.