Brian Ellison, of the Science and Technology Facilities Council and ALMA's UK project manager, said: ‘It is said we are all made of stardust.
‘ALMA will answer certain questions about where we came from.'
The telescope, which was part-built by British companies, has yet to run at full power.
But when all the dishes are operating in unison , the resulting images should be ten times sharper than those of the Hubble space telescope.
