ATSE: Expanding Horizons for Radio Astronomy: the SKA Observatory in Australia

The Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) will build the next generation of radio telescopes, transforming our understanding of the Universe and the laws of fundamental physics. A collaboration of 15 countries, SKAO will be one observatory with two telescopes: SKA-Low in Western Australia and SKA-Mid in South Africa. After decades of planning and development, SKAO will start construction of both telescopes in early 2022.

In Western Australia, SKA-Low will comprise up to 131,072 antennas with a frequency range of 50-350MHz. The antennas will be deployed in clusters along spiral arms spanning 65 km of CSIRO’s Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory. SKA will be the first time Australia has hosted a mega-science facility on behalf of the international community. In this talk, Sarah will explore the science case for SKA, the technologies needed to deliver this next step for radio astronomy, and the opportunities that it brings to Australia.