After 30 years of planning and negotiations, construction of the world's largest telescope begins today, the ultra-sensitive Square Kilometer Array (SKA) radio telescope, which will consist of two individual giant, interconnected telescopes, one in Western Australia and one in South Africa. It is one of the largest international scientific endeavours of the 21st century.
The SKA will pick up radio signals from various celestial objects and is hoped to shed more light on some of the most puzzling phenomena in astronomy and astrophysics, such as the first stars of the cosmic dawn, the formation of galaxies, the expansion of the universe and the nature of invisible dark matter. Among other things, it will also search for signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life, trying to answer the question "Are we alone in the universe?"
The telescope will be operated by the UK-based intergovernmental organisation SKAO, of which eight countries are already full members: Britain, Italy, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Australia, South Africa and China. France, Spain and Germany plan to join as well, while a few other countries (Canada, India, Sweden, South Korea, South Korea, Japan) have also expressed their intention to join in the future.
In 2012 the decision was made that the originally conceived as a single telescope would break in two, on two different continents. The large distances between the antennas of the two separate telescopes SKA-Mid (medium frequencies 350 MHz to 15.4 GHz) and SKA-Low (low frequencies 50 to 350 MHz) will give the telescope unprecedented sensitivity. Both telescopes are interferometers, meaning each has multiple antennas that act as a single telescope.
The SKA will be built in phases, with the first phase, with a budget of €1.3 billion, expected to be completed by 2028. This will be followed in the next decade by the second implementation phase at a cost of another €700 million. The ultimate goal is to build a telescope with a total surface area of one square kilometre (hence the name Square Kilometre Array).
Initially SKA-Low in Australia will consist of 131,072 dipole antennas, each one like a two-metre Christmas tree. Construction will take place in an isolated area inhabited by the Aboriginal Wajari Yamaji Indigenous people, who have signed an agreement with the Australian government for the use of their land.
SKA-Mid will initially consist of 197 parabolic piata antennas spread over an area of about 150 kilometres in the arid South African region of Karoo. Already in the region is South Africa's MeerKAT radio telescope, consisting of 64 dishes, which will be integrated into the SKA in 2027.
The first scientific milestone will be in 2024, when the Australian and South African SKAs are expected to operate jointly for the first time.
Source: KYPE
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