The Square Kilometre Array: The world's biggest telescope

The Square Kilometre Array The world's BlIGGEST telescope The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be the world's biggest and most advanced radio telescope ever constructed. Using dishes spread across an entire continent, . the SKA will peer into the farthest reaches of the Universe and make giant leaps forwàrd in discovery. 10x The SKA will allow scientists to see 10 times further into space The SKA will peer back 13 billion years, to just after the big bang Many thousands of antennas including Exceptionally radio-quiet core 3,000 dishes, -approx. 0.002 people per square kilometre each 15m wide €1.5 billion project, In 1 minute, the SKA will capture the equivalent of 1 million CDS of data (stacked would funded by countries around the world reach over 1km into the sky) 10,000 times the discovery potential than Array stations placed current-day telescopes An Australian-New Zealand SKA strategically across Australia and New Zealand A decision is imminent on where the SKA will Two highly developed countries with a long be hosted – either Australia and New Zealand history of successful Collaboration (A-NZ) or South Africa. If hosted in A-NZ, the SKA's 3,000 dishes will be placed strategically 5,500km between furthest dishes for across 5,500 kilometres from Western Australia into New Zealand, providing greater image resolution. greater image resolution The SKA will need to be free from radio Potential Array Locations interference caused by people. The core of I Existing Fibre Optic Network Existing fibre-optic network runs across Australia and into New Zealand the SKA in Western Australia would be in East-west orientation the Shire of Murchison, an area larger than the Netherlands with a population of just 110 people - providing extremely radio quiet maximises observing opportunities conditions, ideal for the SKA.