On the 14th of September, Australia and New Zealand submitted their formal proposal to host the Square Kilometer Array. The Square Kilometer Array will be the worlds most sensitive Radio-Astronomy instrument, and is expected to cost around AUD$2 Billion to build, making it one of the most prominent scientific instruments worldwide.
The Australia / New Zealand Bid is in direct competition to host the SKA with Southern Africa, with the Australian / New Zealand site believed to be superior to Southern Africa in terms of radio quietness, which is critical to maximise the scientific value of the instrument, as well as being able to leverage off the Australian government's new Australia-wide fibre-optic network, the National Broadband network. Australia and New Zealand also offer a highly stable political environment to support the SKA facility, ensuring stability across its predicted 50 year timeframe.
The facility will involve thousands of Radio telescope dishes, centered in the Murchison region of Western Australia but extending across the whole of Australia as well as New Zealand, offering a telescope baseline of 5,500 kilometers.
The Australian / New Zealand bid brought together over 47 government agencies from across Australia and New Zealand, in a strong show of political support from both sides of the Tasman. If selected, the SKA will put Australia and New Zealand at the forefront of radio-astronomy for generations to come, bringing the best minds globally to work with the facility.
The site selection is expected to be announced in early 2012, with the SKA fully operational by 2020.
Go you Aussies and New Zealanders!
Showing posts with label New Zealand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Zealand. Show all posts
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Friday, May 28, 2010
Aussies and Kiwis link up to boost SKA chances
Six radio telescopes across both Australia and New Zealand have linked up to perform Radio Astronomy for the first time, creating a telescope baseline of 5500km. In doing so, they have created images that are 10 times more detailed than those of the Hubble Telescope.
The team from Australian and New Zealand imaged the Centaurus A galaxy, which is over 14 million light years away. The team included Auckland University of Technology’s Warkworth telescope, three CSIRO telescopes in New South Wales, the new Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) facility in WA, and the University of Tasmania’s dish near Hobart.
The new link up was enabled by the new 1Gbps Kiwi Advanced Research and Education Network (KAREN) connection allowing data transfer across the Tasman.
I must say, I find this “competitive science” attitude between Australia and South Africa wonderful, with both countries trying to out-science each other in the race for the SKA. In the end, it seems the science is the true winner, with the reverse situation than normal occurring. Politicians coming to scientists, and asking what they can do for them!
The CSIRO media release is here.
Well done Team ANZ SKA.
The team from Australian and New Zealand imaged the Centaurus A galaxy, which is over 14 million light years away. The team included Auckland University of Technology’s Warkworth telescope, three CSIRO telescopes in New South Wales, the new Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) facility in WA, and the University of Tasmania’s dish near Hobart.
The new link up was enabled by the new 1Gbps Kiwi Advanced Research and Education Network (KAREN) connection allowing data transfer across the Tasman.
I must say, I find this “competitive science” attitude between Australia and South Africa wonderful, with both countries trying to out-science each other in the race for the SKA. In the end, it seems the science is the true winner, with the reverse situation than normal occurring. Politicians coming to scientists, and asking what they can do for them!
The CSIRO media release is here.
Well done Team ANZ SKA.
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