Expect a major technological upgrade from astronomers as the world's largest radio telescope has started its construction in Western Australia. The Square Kilometer Array will contribute to studying dark energy and the early universe.
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An IRAM (Institute of Millimetric Radio Astronomy) member works on the maintenance of an antennae part of the NOEMA (Northern Extended Millimeter Array) radio telescope on the « Plateau de Bure » in Saint-Etienne-en-Devoluy near the Superdevoluy resort, on September 20, 2022
An IRAM (Institute of Millimetric Radio Astronomy) member works on the maintenance of an antennae part of the NOEMA (Northern Extended Millimeter Array) radio telescope on the « Plateau de Bure » in Saint-Etienne-en-Devoluy near the Superdevoluy resort, on September 20, 2022
Square Kilometer Array as the World's Largest Radio Telescope
The construction for the Australia portion of the Square Kilometer Array has already started. Engadget reported that once it is finished, it should become the largest radio telescope in the world. The construction will be headed by the Australian Minister of Industry and Science Ed Husic and the Director General of SKA Organization, Prof. Philip Diamond.
The telescope will have two telescope arrays. One of them, the SKA-Low, will revolve around 131,072 Christmas Trees-like antennas located in Western Wajarri Country in Australia. It is expected to be eight times more sensitive than the existing telescopes as it maps the cosmos 135 times faster. The telescope will also focus on low-frequency signals, hence the name.
This was originally envisioned in 1991 to help astronomers on learning the early universe and provide discoveries during the reionization period. It will also help investigate dark energy and the potential effect on cosmic expansion. Several scientists considered this a major milestone in the industry, especially for astronomy research.
This is a joint effort between Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and SKA Organization. "The amount of raw data around the telescopes will be amazing, nearly 1 Terabyte per second," the Department of Industry, Science and Resource stated.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the telescope costs $450 million over a decade, which is the doubled-budget for Australia's current telescope. Adding to this is that the country's largest telescope is almost 50 years old. Without the new invention, the Astronomical Society of Australia argues that they will be losing access to the night sky.
SKA-Mid in South Africa
Meanwhile, The Guardian reported that the second array and its counterpart, called SKA-Mid, will be built in Meerkat National Park, located in the Karoo Region of South Africa. Mid-waves would be received by 200 dishes in the country.
With the extreme sensitivity of both arrays, the radio telescope will also be useful in searching for extraterrestrial life. However, the resolution will limit the most detailed searchers to close stars. The whole Square Kilometer Array is expected to finish in 2028.
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SKA-Low Director Dr. Sarah Pearce stated that "The observatory would define the next fifty years for radio astronomy, charting the birth and death of galaxies, searching for new types of gravitational waves, and expanding the boundaries of what we know about the universe."
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