After decades of planning and negotiation, construction work on the world’s largest radio telescope, the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), has begun in outback Western Australia. In the Murchison Shire region, 560 kilometers north of Perth, more than 130,000 antennas will be installed in a first phase, which will later be connected to radio telescopes in the South African semi-desert Karoo.
Both regions are very sparsely populated, so there are hardly any disruptive influences when observing space. Using the colossal telescope, some of the most mysterious phenomena in space will be explored in the future – such as the cosmic web of dark matter, the formation of galaxies and the expansion of the universe.
Search for alien life
But above all, the “Square Kilometer Array” can pick up radio signals at great distances due to its extreme sensitivity – and if possible also provide an answer to the question of extraterrestrial life. A total of 14 countries are involved in the multi-billion dollar project SKA.
Astronomers also expect new insights into the origin of the universe: “Scientists hope to use the immensely powerful telescope to study the ‘cosmic dawn’ of the universe, a period between about 100 million and a billion years after the Big Bang. , when the first stars were born, life arose and galaxies formed,” wrote The Age newspaper.
The first phase of construction is scheduled to be completed in 2028
The “Square Kilometer Array” scientific project is considered one of the most important of this century. The first phase of building the antennas, much of which look a bit like Christmas trees (photos below), is expected to be completed in 2028. In further phases, hundreds of thousands of antennas will be added in Australia and thousands of dishes in South Africa – a total area of one square kilometer, from which the name of the project is derived.
“The SKA telescopes will be sensitive enough to detect an airport radar on a planet orbiting a star 10 light-years away,” said SKA director Sarah Pearce. “This could answer even the greatest question of all: Are we alone in the universe?”
Source: Krone
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
