The Supersize Radio Telescope

The megaproject that radio astronomers are waiting for is the ambitious Square Kilometer
Array (SKA), a 19-nation collaboration to build the largest, most sensitive radio telescope
ever. Its thousands of small dishes would probe deeper into the universe and further back in
time than any previous instrument and also conduct whole-sky surveys for transient phenomena
such as gamma-ray and x-ray bursts.

“What we’re doing with the SKA is combining extraordinary sensitivity with wide field-of-view imaging or sampling,” says Cornell University astronomer Rick M. Cordes, who heads the SKA’s Technology Development Project. Right now the array is only in the R&D phase, while researchers debate fundamental issues such as its location (either Western Australia or South Africa), the number and diameter of antennas, and the overall Scientific objectives. If all goes well, actual construction of the SKA could begin around 2014.