Posted on 12/27/2022 11:11:18 AM PST by Red Badger
| Overview
Searching for signs of life in the galaxy, identifying supernova outbursts, and finding evidence to support or refute modern physical theories are among the new astronomical observatory of x-rays’ objectives. The Square Kilometer Array Observatory’s (SKAO) construction has begun in its Australian and South African sites.
The science and other stuff to know
“It’s been a 30-year journey. The first 10 years were spent developing concepts and ideas. The second 10 were spent developing technology. And then the last Decade was spent on detailed design, securing the sites, getting governments to agree to set up a treaty organization, and providing the funding to get started,” Phil Diamond, Director General of the SKAO project, told BBC News.
In Western Australia and the African North Cape regions, more than 130,000 antennas and 200 parabolic dishes will be installed, respectively, in the first instance. Then more instruments and antennas will be added to pick up more signals. The works are expected to be completed and operational by 2030. The investment by the countries in the experiment is almost €2 billion, according to GCV.
A composite image of the future SKA telescopes, blending what already exists on site with the artist’s impressions. Credit: SKAO The 197 satellite dishes will be built over a vast land — around 150km long — in South Africa while the 131,072 Christmas tree-shaped low-frequency dishes will be located in Wajarri Yamaj, Australia, where the furthest antennas will be separated by 65 km (40 miles).
Like the ALMA project, the SKAO antennas will work as part of a single radio telescope covering an expansive land area. But in contrast with the Atacama observatory, SKAO will have three extensions spread across the planet. In this way, the entire planet becomes a giant radio telescope. This technique has been implemented before with the Event Horizon Telescope, which managed to take an image of a distant black hole using the entire planet as a telescope.
The cost of the SKA, including construction and operations until 2030, is estimated at around €1.9 billion. The works will begin to be executed in January, after the holidays.
So what?
The objective is to observe the trace of hydrogen in the cosmos and trace this element back to its beginnings, going back to the Big Bang.
Other phenomena will seek to be explained using the observational data from this colossal telescope: “One would be these ‘fast radio bursts that have been detected. These things emit the equivalent of the energy of an entire year of our Sun in just one split second. And we have no idea what they are. How so? The SKA may have an answer.”
“SKA will contribute to many areas of astronomy,” said Dr. Shari Breen, the observatory’s Director of Science Operations.
What’s next?
It is expected that by 2024 there will already be 4 satellites in operation in Australia and 6 in South Africa. By 2028, if all goes well, the project should have an extension of at least half a million square km, although those involved understand that a work of these features implies a massive investment. For the same reason, they invite all interested countries to collaborate. The project’s current participators are South Africa, Australia, the United Kingdom, China, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Switzerland.
Ping!..................
Forty-two....
Good plan. Plug that hydrogen leak and the universe will return to normal.
Lots of offset-feed reflectors. There is much behind the antennas to coherently combine all of the signals into one usable strong signal!
We have already done this?
The Very Long Baseline Array (VBLA) system.
https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/vlba
“ONE STEP BEYOOOOOOOND!”
Arecibo ain’t there no more..................
Looking for the Big Bang, eh? They’ll be looking for a loooong time. But hey, as long as they can keep suckering the govts it’ll keep those paychecks humming.
Not at all? Or still broken.
Hopes Fade for Resurrecting Puerto Rico's Famous Arecibo Telescope
Nearly two years after the collapse of its 305-meter radio telescope, the Arecibo Observatory's fate has been decided. The iconic giant dish will not be rebuilt, but research and public outreach at the site may continue
By Daniel Leonard on October 20, 2022
“NSF is grateful to current and past employees of the Arecibo Observatory, who have been integral to the outstanding work at the site,” the NSF spokesperson wrote. The agency is extending the observatory's current funding award by an extra six months to September 2023 “to provide additional time to support the transition to the proposed new Center.”
For now, the exact future of the Arecibo Observatory remains uncertain. But barring a massive fundraising campaign or a coordinated push to Congress, Méndez says, it's unlikely that anything like the Arecibo telescope will ever be rebuilt in Puerto Rico.
“Arecibo occupies a very special place in the hearts of a lot of astronomers,” Siemion says. “Although maybe it was an expected day, it nevertheless is a sad day. It's definitely the end of an era.”
The fact that it was a single dish, allowed it to do some things that cannot be done with phased multiple dishes.
Some of that is in relation to transmitting capability.
Broken beyond repair..................
Yes that was the conclusion o the NSF.
They could repair it with all the latest new technology, but they won’t because there’s no money in Puerto Rico for Congress critters to grift...........................
OK, that makes perfect sense.
I’ve learned to hate how government sponsored science works (it does not).
Freedom Works, DC does NOT.
When the NSF was building the VLA site, I knew 2 who were involved. That was in the mid 1980’s. One of them, told me then, that science was no longer about discovery and development, it was about chasing funding.
That is where all this current insanity came from.
Interesting to reflect on how things evolve. Sink or swim.
If PR ever becomes a state with two Senators, and a couple of Representatives, you might see it revitalized...................
The foundation is critical. The load of the feed horn and cable must be enormous, the height of the towers supporting it is large so must be deeply anchored I don't recall seeing guy cables on the towers. The actual dish surface is aluminum. Not sure what the support system for that is. Harsh environment? Probably. I've never been to Puerto Rico.
Now unrelated questions. Where will the US Dollar be a year from now? will most of the US be learning Mandarin? Will part of the USA break away from the Great Reset? Will there be another World War?
We are at an inflection point. Financial and Military Conflicts are both unpredictable at some level.
It is TIME to #DownSize_DC, the future of our nation and the world depends upon what we do soon in the USA. (Some of my foreign friends are aware of that problem. They are asking me what is going on in the USA, they already know where the lines of the political conflict are. But like us, not the outcome.
Restore the Constitution!Size DC!
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