Installation and testing of the ALMA Band 2 receivers, covering 67 to 116 GHz, is currently underway. In anticipation of Band 2 being offered in the near future, the ALMA Band 2 workshop brings together astronomers and ALMA/ARC staff to discuss the new potential for various scientific fields. We plan to have a dedicated session focused on looking at the Band 2 Science Verification data. The workshop will be held in person on 24 - 26 February 2026, Bologna, Italy.

For more information, registration and abstract submission (abstract deadline October 31), please visit the workshop's website.

A white paper has been published summarising the outcomes of ADP2024 workshop on advanced data products. Advanced Data Products (ADPs) are increasingly central to enhancing the efficiency and scientific output of radio observatories. Designed to bridge the gap between raw observational data and science-ready results, ADPs reduce processing overhead, improve reproducibility, and enable a wider range of researchers to engage with complex datasets. The paper reviews current practices at major facilities including ALMA, SKAO, LOFAR, VLA, and ESO. Learning from current initiatives, it identifies critical issues and makes suggestions to address technical and organizational challenges.

We are delighted to announce that the 2026 European ALMA school will be hosted by the Allegro ARC node in Leiden, the Netherlands, from 26 to 30 January 2026. Whether you are an intermediate user or have never seen ALMA data before, this is the event for you - and a great opportunity to meet fellow ALMA users from Europe and beyond. The school will cover a broad range of topics related to ALMA: basics of interferometry, data calibration, synthesis imaging, working with the ALMA archive, advance data analysis techniques, and future ALMA developments.

Statistics of proposal submission for Cycle 12 have been released. Europe continues to be the region with the highest oversubscription rate (7.8 for time on the 12m array). The median time requested on the 12m array per proposal increased to it's highest ever: 15.1 hrs. The report can be accessed here. 

The Allegro ARC node is delighted to host the next European ALMA school that will take place in Leiden (NL) between 26 - 30 January 2026. Aimed at PhD students and postdocs, the school will cover a broad range of aspects related to ALMA: interferometry, data calibration, synthesis imaging, exploiting the ALMA archive, analysis techniques, and future ALMA developments.

On 12 June 2025, the ALMA uv coverage assessment tool assess_ms version 3.0 (public version) was released. The tool takes as input a set of calibrated MeasurementSets and produces as output various diagnostic plots and texts which enable the user to assess the quality of the uv coverage comparing it with a theoretical expectation. The tool can process 12M, 7M, and mixed array ALMA data. See the documentation for more details.

On 18 June 2025, the 33rd Band 2 receiver left the premises of the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy (NOVA) and is now on its way to the ALMA Operations Support Facility in Chile. This marks an important milestone since half of the receivers needed to equip 66 ALMA antennas have now been provided. Representatives from the three European Band 2 consortium partners and ESO could witness this event.

ESO Garching is looking for a scientist with expertise in instrumentation for submillimetre astronomy or related fields. The ESO ALMA Project Scientist will support the development of the various upgrade development studies and projects of the ALMA Observatory which are an integral part of its long-term life. They will be primarily responsible for the definition of the scientific capabilities of several ALMA upgrade projects and follow-up of the development and construction phases of such projects. See the announcement on the ESO Recruitment Portal.