After 30 years of planning and negotiation, construction on the largest of these begins today. telescope in the world of the ultra-sensitive Square Kilometer Array (SKA) radio telescope.

The SKA will consist of two separate giant telescopes linked together, one in western Australia and one in South Africa. This is one of the largest international scientific projects of the 21st century.

SKA will receive radio signals from various celestial objects and is expected to shed more light on some of the most mysterious 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, he will look for traces of intelligent extraterrestrial life, trying to answer the question of whether we are alone in the universe.

Ten years in development

The British intergovernmental organization SKAO, of which eight countries are already full members: Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Australia, South Africa and China, will be responsible for the telescope. France, Spain and Germany are also planning to participate, and several other countries (Canada, India, Sweden, South Korea, Japan) have also expressed their intention to participate in the future.

In 2012, it was decided that the telescope, originally conceived as a single telescope, would “break” in two, on two different continents.

The long distances between the antennas of two separate telescopes SKA-Mid (mid frequencies from 350 MHz to 15.4 GHz) and SKA-Low (low frequencies from 50 to 350 MHz) will give the telescope unprecedented sensitivity. Both telescopes are interferometers, meaning they each have multiple antennas that act as one telescope.

Over 130,000 antennas

The SKA will be built in phases and the first phase, with a budget of 1.3 billion euros, is expected to be completed by 2028. The second phase of implementation will follow in the next decade and will cost another 700 million euros.

The ultimate goal is to build a telescope with a total area of ​​one square kilometer (hence the name Square Kilometer Array).

Initially, SKA-Low in Australia will consist of 131,072 dipole antennas, each the size of a 2m Christmas tree. The construction will take place in an isolated area inhabited by the Wajari Yamaji Aboriginals, who have signed an agreement with the Australian government on the provision of their land for use.

SKA-Mid will initially consist of 197 parabolic parabolic antennas spread over an area of ​​about 150 kilometers in South Africa’s arid Karoo region. The 64-dish MeerKAT South African radio telescope is already in the area and will join SKA in 2027.

The first scientific milestone will come in 2024, when the Australian and South African SKA are expected to work together for the first time.

Source: APE-MPE / Photo:skatelescope.org