Work Begins in Western Australia on World's Most Powerful Radio Telescopes
Construction of the world's largest radio astronomy observatory, the Square Kilometre Array, has officially begun in Australia after three decades in development. From a report: A huge intergovernmental effort, the SKA has been hailed as one of the biggest scientific projects of this century. It will enable scientists to look back to early in the history of the universe when the first stars and galaxies were formed. It will also be used to investigate dark energy and why the universe is expanding, and to potentially search for extraterrestrial life. The SKA will initially involve two telescope arrays -- one on Wajarri country in remote Western Australia, called SKA-Low, comprising 131,072 tree-like antennas. SKA-Low is so named for its sensitivity to low-frequency radio signals. It will be eight times as sensitive than existing comparable telescopes and will map the sky 135 times faster. A second array of 197 traditional dishes, SKA-Mid, will be built in South Africa's Karoo region.
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