Square Kilometer Array

Square Kilometer Array Samantha Simonetti

Construction and Operation

Yet to be completed, the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) will be the largest radio telescope ever constructed, with a total collecting area well over one square kilometer
The site of the telescope is the middle of the Western Australian Desert and a remote location in South Africa, where equipment is currently located
The start of construction is scheduled for 2018
The design phase had a cost of about 150 million euros, and the total cost for the first phase of the telescope is about 650 million euros (full cost is yet to be determined), with much of the funding coming from host countries
The office for the SKA Organization is responsible for coordinating the global activities of the SKA project
Official Webpage: https://www.skatelescope.org/
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/SKA_telescope

Potential array stations for the SKA in Australia and the site of the SKA in South Africa

The three SKA receptor types (left), the proposed layout for the SKA, which resembles multiple spiral arm configurations (top right), and an artist's impression of antennas in Australia (bottom right)

South Africa and Australia, the host countries

Physical Characteristics

The telescope will use thousands of high frequency dishes, as well as low frequency and mid-frequency aperture array telescopes
The telescopes will be arranged in multiple spiral arm configurations which will be connected to a central core ― the physical distance between each dish is precisely measured for proper data collection
There will be several thousand 15 meter wide dishes which are fully steerable, which will be made from carbon fiber deposites
Aperture arrays will also be constructed ― they provide a large field of view and are capable at viewing more than one part of the sky at once

An artist's impression of what the aperture arrays and dishes will look like once construsted

Optical Characteristics

The SKA is a radio telescope, meaning it will observe objects in the radio spectrum
The SKA will observe at a frequency range from 50 MHz to 20 GHz, which corresponds to wavelengths of 4 m to 3 cm

Radio waves are found towards the end of the spectrum, with the largest wavelength and smallest frequency

Research and Purpose

One of the main goals of the SKA is too research the expansion/acceleration of the universe and why this acceleration is taking place
The SKA will revolutionize the study of how galaxies form and transform their gas into stars by the detection of hydrogen gas
The SKA will be one of the world’s largest and most sensitive interferometers, spanning thousands of kilometers
The SKA will study cosmic magnetism
The SKA will use interferometry (this will be the largest telescope to do so) in order to maximize its resolution

Basic information on how interferometry works

MeerKAT Precursor

The South African MeerKAT radio telescope is a precursor to the SKA

Image of MeerKAT

The ALMA radio telescope array in Chile captured this shot of the Antennae Galaxies (75 million light years from Earth). This is an example of a photo from a radio telescope.

Works Cited

Pictures:

https://www.skatelescope.org/radio-astronomy/
http://theconversation.com/australias-bid-for-the-square-kilometre-array-an-insiders-perspective-4891
http://www.nature.com/news/astronomy-in-south-africa-the-long-shot-1.9633
http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/news/2010/skaposts/
http://www.csiro.au/en/Research/Astronomy/ASKAP-and-the-Square-Kilometre-Array/SKA
https://www.skatelescope.org/location/
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/02/14/3430265.htm
https://5ocietyx.wordpress.com/category/earth/australia/western-australia/
http://www.hutui6.com/space-wallpapers.html
https://sites.google.com/site/chempendix/em-spectrum
http://www.space.com/13146-alma-radio-telescope-1st-image-released.html

Information:

https://www.skatelescope.org/
http://www.ska.ac.za/gallery/meerkat/

Appreciate

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