Construction was set to begin Monday on the Square Kilometer Array, the largest radio telescope ever, which will scan the skies for aliens and try to see to the very edge of the universe.
Scientists hope to dissect the deepest mysteries of the cosmos, from testing celebrated physicist Albert Einstein’s theories with unprecedented precision to scouring the stars for signs of extra-terrestrial life.
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The “SKA” — based in Australia and South Africa, with a command center in the U.K. — will download data at a rate 100,000 times faster than the average broadband speed in 2022.
It is a collaboration between 14 partner countries. When completed in 2028, it will cover nearly 11 million square feet on two continents.
The telescope will give astronomers a view “essentially across the entire observable universe,” Professor Alan Duffy, lead scientist of the Royal Institution of Australia, told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“The science goals are as vast as the telescope itself, from searching for forming planets and signs of alien life to mapping out the cosmic web of dark matter and the growing of galaxies within those vast universe-spanning filaments.”
Astronomers are calling this long-planned project, which was delayed by the COVID pandemic, a game changer in terms of humanity’s understanding of the universe.
“This is the moment it becomes real,” SKA general director Phil Diamond told BBC News.
“It’s been a 30-year journey. The first 10 years were about developing the concepts and ideas. The second 10 was spent doing the technology development. And then the last decade was about detailed design, securing the sites, getting governments to agree to set up a treaty organization and provide the funds to start.”
