The NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array (operated by the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique, IRAM) is the successor to the Plateau du Bure observatory. Located in the French Alpes on the wide and isolated Plateau de Bure at an elevation of 2550 meters, the telescope currently consists of nine antennas, each 15 meters in diameter. Each antenna is equipped with state-of-the-art high-sensitivity receivers. Two tracks, extending on a north-south and east-west axis, enable the antennas to be moved up to a maximum separation of 760 meters. NOEMA will double the number of antennas of its predecessor from six to twelve. The first of the six new NOEMA antennas was inaugurated end of September 2014. During the next years, construction of the array will continue and five other antennas will follow, approximately one per year until 2019.
| geographic longitude: | 05° 54′ 28.5″ |
| geographic latitude: | 44° 38′ 02″ |
| altitude above sea level: | 2553 m |
| antenna diameter: | array with 9 elements of 15 meter diameter each |
| minimum elevation: | 3° |
Available observing mode: single dish, local interferometry, Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI).
Frequencies used currently:
| Frequency band | Observing mode |
| 18.7 – 19.7 GHz | radiometric phase correction* |
| 21.5 – 22.5 GHz | radiometric phase correction |
| 23.6 – 24 GHz | radiometric phase correction |
| 24.7 – 25.7 GHz | radiometric phase correction |
| 72 – 116 GHz | single dish, interferometry, VLBI |
| 127 – 179 GHz | single dish, interferometry |
| 200 – 276 GHz | single dish, interferometry, VLBI |
| 275 – 373 GHz | single dish, interferometry, VLBI |
Research programs: galactic research (circumstellar envelopes, interstellar medium: molecules and dust), near extra-galactic research (molecules and dust, star formation), solar system (comets), aeronomy and terrestrial atmosphere (H2O, O3, ClO), Very Long Baseline Interferometry at mm wavelengths.
* New radiometers are being developed for the range 18-26 GHz.