deep in the atacama desert, they've built a revolutionary new observatory known as the atacama largeer-sub millimeter array, "alma" for short. it's a different kind of telescope, not the kind you look through. alma is the world's most powerful radio telescope, which means it deciphers wavelengths of light-- colors, really-- that the human eye cannot see, giving scientists a window on parts of the universe that are otherwise invisible. it's a project that's been 30 years in the making and cost $1.3 billion. alma is just getting started but has already made some astonishing discoveries. for centuries, people have come to this high plateau in northern chile to look far into the heart of space. it's called chat-non-tor, which means "place of departure." as these time-lapse pictures show, it is the earth's window to the stars. at 16,500 feet, it's above most of the earth's atmosphere; there's very little here separating man from the heavens. the result is a night's sky that's more brilliant than anything you can see without actually being in orbit. the landscape is otherworldly, and the h