Square Kilometre Array (SKA): Construction of largest telescope in world to begin. All you need to know

On Monday, one of the biggest scientific projects of the century will commence. The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is slated for completion in 2028, when it will become the largest radio telescope on the planet. The facility has its headquarters in the UK and is split across Australia and South Africa. The telescope will search for extraterrestrials and also precisely test Einstein's theories.

Opening Ceremonies

The opening ceremonies are being held in the Karoo in South Africa's Northern Cape and in the remote Murchison Shire in Western Australia. Delegations from the eight countries that are leading the project attended the ceremonies.

Prof. Phil Diamond, the director general of the Square Kilometre Array Organization, said it had been a 30-year-long journey. The countries now involved are the UK, South Africa, Australia, Italy, China, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Portugal. Germany, France, and Spain have ratified the treaty, and Sweden, Canada, India, South Korea, and Japan have indicated that they will join at a later date.

Operating Frequency

The system's operating frequency range will be from about 50 megahertz to 25 gigahertz. This range will allow the telescope to catch very faint radio signals from cosmic sources that are billions of light-years from Earth. This includes the signals caused during the initial few hundred million years after the Big Bang.

FAQs:

1. How many antennas will the finished telescope have?
   According to the initial architecture, it will have almost 200 parabolic antennas (dishes) and 131,000 dipole antennas.
2. How much will the telescope cost?
   The total budget for construction is €2 billion, and the amount spent to date will be just under €500 million (£430 million) as soon as the contracts are finalized.