[USMA:27613] square kilometre array

[Mighty Chimp]

Australia is contributing to two next generation radio telescopes: the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR). The SKA will have a collecting area of one square kilometre making it 100 times more sensitive than the current best instruments. It will operate at centimetre wavelengths and may be operational in 2015. LOFAR, a more immediate project, will be about one tenth the size of the SKA. It will work at metre wavelengths and may be operational as soon as 2008. These new telescopes are so ambitious that international collaboration is mandatory in their design, construction and operation.   http://www.atnf.csiro.au/projects/ska/