26°42′S 116°30′E / 26.7°S 116.5°EThe 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.
