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Square Kilometre Array

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1. International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research
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3. Square Kilometre Array (this page)

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is a $3 billion international global science project being put together by a consortium of institutions from 20 different countries.

The SKA is a radio telescope that will help answer fundamental questions in physics and cosmology and provide scientists and the world with unparalleled insights into the formation and evolution of the Universe.

The SKA will either be built in Australia and New Zealand or Southern Africa, with this decision to be made around 2012.

The SKA will require new technology and progress in fundamental engineering in fields such as information and communication technology, high performance computing and production manufacturing techniques. It will comprise a vast array of antennas, arranged in clusters to be spread over 3,000 kilometres or more.

The antennas will be linked electronically to form one enormous telescope. The combination of unprecedented collecting area, versatility and sensitivity will make the SKA the world’s premier imaging and survey telescope over a wide range of radio frequencies, producing the sharpest pictures of the sky of any telescope.

The story so far…

The SKA is a collaboration between institutions in 20 countries, led by an international science and engineering committee and a jointly funded SKA Project Office. The cost of the telescope will be shared among the participating countries, with scientists from around the world working closely with industry partners to develop the technologies to design and build the instrument.

In December 2005 four countries (Australia, Argentina, China and South Africa) submitted proposals to the International SKA Steering Committee (ISSC) to host the SKA. On September 28, 2006 it was announced that Australia and Southern Africa had been short-listed as sites to host the SKA – the final decision is expected in 2012.

The Australian candidate site is located in the Mid West of Western Australia, within the Shire of Murchison. This region is one of the few places in the world today that is suitable in terms of its radio-quietness and its radio-astronomy observational qualities.

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And:

Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder

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CSIRO's ASKAP antennas at the MRO in Western Australia. Credit: Ant Schinckel, CSIRO.

Organization	CSIRO
Location	Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, Western Australia, Australia
Coordinates	26°42′S 116°30′E / 26.7°S 116.5°E The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, or ASKAP, is CSIRO’s new radio telescope currently under construction at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) in Mid West region of Western Australia. The Wajarri Yamatji people are the traditional owners of the land on which the observatory lies. Construction on ASKAP began in late 2009 and is expected to be completed by 2013.[1] ASKAP’s combination of fast survey speed and high sensitivity will allow astronomers to answer some fundamental questions about the creation and early evolution of our Universe, and to test theories of cosmic magnetism and predictions from Einstein's theory of general relativity.[2] ASKAP will also be an important technology demonstrator for the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, a future international radio telescope that will be the world’s largest and most sensitive.[3] ASKAP's home, the MRO, is also the candidate 'core' site in Australia and New Zealand's bid for the SKA.