After more than 30 years of planning and preparation, the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) radio telescope is officially under construction!
SKA will be a two-location telescope with mid-frequency parabolic antennae in South Africa, and low-frequency dipole antennae in Western Australia. The first proof of principle test, set for 2024, will run four of the dish-like parabolic antennas and six of the Christmas-tree-like dipole antennas as a basic telescope. After the test, the telescope will be completed in 2028 with 197 parabolic antennae and 131,072 dipole antennae.
With a wide range of operating frequencies, this large radio telescope will be able to detect faint radio signals from billions of lightyears away. SKA will even be capable of picking up signals emitted in the first few hundred million years after the Big Bang occurred! Scientists plan to use SKA’s powerful range to identify the presence of hydrogen before it condenses to form the first stars, perform precise tests of Einstein’s theories, and even search for life among the stars!
Want to learn more information about SKA? Check out the links below!
SKA: Construction to begin on world’s biggest telescope
Construction begins on world’s largest radio telescope after decades of preparations
