(AGENPARL) – lun 05 dicembre 2022 About the SKAO
The SKAO, formally known as the SKA Observatory, is an intergovernmental organisation composed of Member States from five continents and headquartered in the UK. Its mission is to build and operate cutting-edge radio telescopes to transform our understanding of the Universe, and deliver benefits to society through global collaboration and innovation.
Its two telescopes, each composed of hundreds of dishes and thousands of antennas, will be constructed in South Africa and Australia and be the two most advanced radio telescopes on Earth. A later expansion is envisioned in both countries and other African partner countries.
Together with other state-of-the-art research facilities, the SKAO’s telescopes will explore the unknown frontiers of science and deepen our understanding of key processes, including the formation and evolution of galaxies, fundamental physics in extreme environments and the origins of life. Through the development of innovative technologies and its contribution to addressing societal challenges, the SKAO will play its part to address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and deliver significant benefits across its membership and beyond.
The SKAO recognises and acknowledges the Indigenous peoples and cultures that have traditionally lived on the lands on which the SKAO facilities are located. In Australia, the SKAO acknowledges the Wajarri Yamaji as the Traditional Owners and native title holders of Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory.
Background information
The SKAO (SKA Observatory) is a next-generation radio astronomy Big Data facility that will revolutionise our understanding of the Universe and the laws of fundamental physics.
The SKAO is made up of two radio telescopes – SKA-Low and SKA-Mid – together building the most sensitive radio observatory ever.
The 16 Member States and Observer countries are Australia (member and host), Canada (cooperation agreement), China (member), France (accession stage), Germany (accession stage), India (cooperation agreement), Italy (member), Japan (observer), the Netherlands (member), Portugal (member), South Africa (member and host), South Korea (observer), Spain (accession stage), Sweden (cooperation agreement), Switzerland (member), and the United Kingdom (member and host).
Since global construction activities started in July 2021, the SKAO has awarded more than 40 contracts worth approximately €150 million. Initial procurement concentrated on developing software, contracting professional services firms to help oversee construction, and bulk-buying components such as programmable circuit boards currently in short supply worldwide.
SKAO is an intergovernmental organisation, established in 2021. It is only the second IGO dedicated to astronomy. The SKAO is the legal entity responsible for constructing, operating and maintaining the SKA telescopes.
Both sites have been specially selected due to their remoteness, benign climate, lack of radio interference and unparalleled view of the Universe from the southern hemisphere, making them perfect locations for radio astronomy.
The telescopes are interferometers – the signals of multiple telescopes are combined to act as one giant telescope. The first scientific results are expected before the telescopes are completed at the end of the decade.
The SKAO Global Headquarters is home to more than 150 experts in science, engineering, project management, policy, international law and many other specialties. Located in the United Kingdom, the purpose-built HQ is neighbour to Jodrell Bank Observatory, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Australian and West Australian Governments, CSIRO and the Wajarri Yamaji community worked closely together to put in place an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA), announced 5 November 2022, that will enable the SKA to be built on Wajarri Yamaji land. Extensive heritage surveys, covering around 400km of ground, have been undertaken over the past four years, where Wajarri people have provided information that is being used to ensure Wajarri heritage is protected.
About SKA-Mid (South Africa)
SKA-Mid will be built in the Karoo in South Africa.
SKA-Mid comprises 197 mid-frequency radio dishes, which will incorporate the 64 MeerKat dishes already built.
Detects radio signals between 350 MHz – 15.4 GHz, which is similar wavelength to mobile phones, bluetooth and wifi
SKA-Mid looks like the more typical dish-style radio telescope.
From a central core measuring around 1km across, the antennas will radiate out in three spiral arms covering a vast distance; the two furthest antennas in SKA-Mid will be 150km apart.
Institutions in China, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and Sweden all contributed to the SKA-Mid design, and the various components will be manufactured all over the globe before being shipped to South Africa for assembly.
About SKA-Low (Australia)
Comprises 131,072 low-frequency radio antennas (512 stations with 256 antennas per station)
Detects radio signals between 50 MHz and 350 MHz – this is similar wavelength to FM radio and TV station frequencies.
Markedly different from the traditional ‘dish’ style radio telescopes, because at low frequencies this type of ‘wire’ antenna is much more efficient. The deceptively simple-looking structures are combined with state-of-the-art back-end technologies which make them incredibly powerful.
SKA-Low is a ‘mathematical’ telescope. Its antennas see the whole sky, and through data processing astronomers can virtually ‘point’ it in different directions, even though the antennas have no moving parts, and filter out what they don’t want to observe.
The antennas are made of horizontal branches of different lengths, called dipoles. Each absorbs radio waves coming from the sky, and the bigger the dipole, the longer the wavelength it absorbs. Radio waves hitting the dipoles creates an electrical current, which is collected and transmitted to supercomputers for analysis.
Institutions in Australia, China, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands and the UK contributed to the design of SKA-Low, and its many components will be manufactured all over the world before being shipped to Western Australia for construction.
The site for SKA-Low in Australia is called Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory. Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara means ‘Sharing the sky and stars’ in Wajarri language. The Wajarri Yamaji are the Traditional Owners and native title holders of the land where SKA-Low will be built.
SKA science
The SKA telescopes will tackle some of the most fundamental scientific questions of our time, ranging from the infant Universe to the existence of life elsewhere in our Universe.
We will be able to look back into the history of the Universe as far as the Cosmic Dawn, when the very first stars and galaxies formed. The SKA telescopes will be the first instruments capable of exploring this time in the Universe at large scales.
The data will also provide valuable insights into the nature of dark matter, dark energy and the evolution of the Universe.
The telescopes will:
Study the birth and evolution of galaxies, by looking at galaxies across the history of the Universe.
Investigate the dark energy that is proposed to accelerate the expansion of the Universe.
Test Einstein’s theory of general relativity by investigating gravity around black holes, and timing pulsars.
Detect signals intentionally produced by an advanced extra-terrestrial intelligence; evidence that we are not alone in the Universe.