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Race for the worldââ¬â¢s top telescope
Monday, October 02, 2006
Australia and Southern Africa have been short listed in the contest to host the worldââ¬â¢s mightiest telescope, a billion-dollar initiative gathering 17 countries.
ââ¬ÅBoth Australia and Southern Africa can meet the full range of requirements for the SKA,ââ¬Â the Square Kilometer Array radio telescope, project director Richard Schilizzi said.
Compared with past-generation telescopes which were a single, massive dish to pick up radio emissions from space, the SKA will comprise thousands of smaller dishes spread over 3,000 kilometers and a central collecting area five kilometres across.
It is designed to be 50 times more sensitive than todayââ¬â¢s most powerful radio telescopes.
Astronomers hope it will pick up radio waves, which issued from the formation of the first stars and galaxies after the ââ¬ËBig Bangââ¬â¢ that created the Universe.
It will also trace the effects of the so-called dark energy that is driving the Universe apart, look for the effects of gravitational waves from black holes at the centres of galaxies and hunt for Earth-like planets orbiting other stars.
Australiaââ¬â¢s bid puts the core site at Mileura station, about 100 km west of Meekathara in Western Australia. Other dishes would be distributed across the country, with the possibility of an extension into New Zealand.
In Southern Africa, the central location would be at Karoo, in South Africaââ¬â¢s Northern Cape region, 95 kms from Carnavon. Other dishes would be located in South Africa itself and in Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia and Ghana.
China and Argentina/Brazil had also put in strong bids, but were ruled out, the SKA said in a press release.
China had placed ââ¬Ëunacceptable restrictionsââ¬â¢ on the placement of the core site, it said without elaborating.
The joint Argentinian-Brazilian proposal was nixed because low-frequency signals from space would be disrupted by ionospheric conditions above South America.
The SKAââ¬â¢s core site has to be placed in sparsely populated areas as man-made radio signals can mask the faint radio waves from the distant cosmos that its forest of dishes is designed to detect.
The decision about which bid will win the SKA beauty contest will be made ââ¬Ëtowards the end of the decade,ââ¬â¢ the project said.
Race for the worldââ¬â¢s top telescope
Monday, October 02, 2006
Australia and Southern Africa have been short listed in the contest to host the worldââ¬â¢s mightiest telescope, a billion-dollar initiative gathering 17 countries.
ââ¬ÅBoth Australia and Southern Africa can meet the full range of requirements for the SKA,ââ¬Â the Square Kilometer Array radio telescope, project director Richard Schilizzi said.
Compared with past-generation telescopes which were a single, massive dish to pick up radio emissions from space, the SKA will comprise thousands of smaller dishes spread over 3,000 kilometers and a central collecting area five kilometres across.
It is designed to be 50 times more sensitive than todayââ¬â¢s most powerful radio telescopes.
Astronomers hope it will pick up radio waves, which issued from the formation of the first stars and galaxies after the ââ¬ËBig Bangââ¬â¢ that created the Universe.
It will also trace the effects of the so-called dark energy that is driving the Universe apart, look for the effects of gravitational waves from black holes at the centres of galaxies and hunt for Earth-like planets orbiting other stars.
Australiaââ¬â¢s bid puts the core site at Mileura station, about 100 km west of Meekathara in Western Australia. Other dishes would be distributed across the country, with the possibility of an extension into New Zealand.
In Southern Africa, the central location would be at Karoo, in South Africaââ¬â¢s Northern Cape region, 95 kms from Carnavon. Other dishes would be located in South Africa itself and in Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia and Ghana.
China and Argentina/Brazil had also put in strong bids, but were ruled out, the SKA said in a press release.
China had placed ââ¬Ëunacceptable restrictionsââ¬â¢ on the placement of the core site, it said without elaborating.
The joint Argentinian-Brazilian proposal was nixed because low-frequency signals from space would be disrupted by ionospheric conditions above South America.
The SKAââ¬â¢s core site has to be placed in sparsely populated areas as man-made radio signals can mask the faint radio waves from the distant cosmos that its forest of dishes is designed to detect.
The decision about which bid will win the SKA beauty contest will be made ââ¬Ëtowards the end of the decade,ââ¬â¢ the project said.
