One of the world ’s most advanced telescopes has been cut and taken offline , with all astronomic observation suspended , but the motive of the intruder – and when it will be back up and running – remains unclear .
On Wednesday , the Atacama Large Millimeter Array ( ALMA ) Observatory in Chileannouncedthey had been pip by acyberattackon Saturday , October 29 , at 6:14 am . The statement said that the hack impel the telescope to pause its astronomical observations and the public internet site was down . As of today , November 4 , the website still ca n’t be turn over .
ALMA is made up of 68 high-pitched - precision feeler fan out over 16 kilometre and is the largest ground - based astronomic task on Earth . Vitally , it was one of the many telescopes involved in the Event Horizon Telescope undertaking that took thefirst lineal image of a fateful holeback in 2019 , and and it has detected thefarthest water in the macrocosm .
“ There are limited e-mail service at the observatory . The threat has been comprise , and our specialists are working hard to restore stirred systems . The attack did not compromise the ALMA antennas or any scientific information , ” ALMA Observatorytweeted . “ Given the nature of the installment , it is not yet potential to estimate a date for a return to steady activities . "
ALMAis found high on a dusty plateau in the Atacama Desert of northerly Chile some 5,058 meters ( 16,597 foundation ) above sea level . From this advantage point , it ’s able to pick up signal from space that would otherwise be absorbed by water vaporization in the Earth ’s standard pressure .
The raiment became amply operational in 2013 and a since proved to be an invaluable tool forexposing the secretsof the universe . It ’s considered the most brawny telescope for observing the coldest objects in the population and focuses its studies on the construction pulley of stars , planetary systems , galaxies , and life itself .
As for why the astronomical facility was hacked , it ’s uncertain . It ’s also not known who carried out the attack , but authority will no doubt be investigating .
