7/31/2019 SKA Graphic

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Know your KAT-7 from your MeerKAT

The number of times the SKA will be more sensitivethan the biggest existing radio telescope.

Part of the universe we know little about and whichscientists hope to study with the help of the SKA.

The number of antennae the SKA will consist of.

The number of antennae at the core of the SKA.Spiralling out of this core will be outlying stationsof between 30 40 antennae each.

The area (from the Karoo to Ghana, Kenya andMauritius) the SKA antennae will cover.

The year in which the SKA will be completed.

The SKA will:

Look further and deeper into space than anything has ever done like a massive eye.

Be powerful and sensitive enough to observe radio signals from the immediateaftermath of the Big Bang.

Search for potential life elsewhere in the universe and for Earth-like planets.

Probe the so-called dark ages: the universe before planets and stars were formed.

Test theories of gravity and examine the mystery of dark energy.

Help scientist make many new discoveries about how the universe was formed andwhat it is made of.

What will it search for?

Its a prototype telescope that will showthat South Africa can build powerfulradio telescopes.MeerKAT will be the largest and mostsensitive radio telescope in the southernhemisphere until the SKA is completed in2024.It is designed to do ground-breakingresearch and the science communityhopes to answer some of the big

questions in astronomy and physics such as, was Einstein right?With MeerKAT, South Africa is playing akey role in design and technologydevelopments for the SKA.Close to 100 young scientists andengineers are working on the project.MeerKAT will consist of 64 dishes, eachwith a diameter of 13.5m and will beready to do science by 2016.

What will it mean?

The SKA will not only lead to advancements in astronomy andscience, but in a wide range of disciplines, especially informationtechnology.The SKA is so powerful, scientists say, it will gather more data in oneweek than humans have collected over thousands of years.The data trac will exceed the total data flow on the internet.To process this data, a new breed of supercomputers will berequired, working a thousand times faster than todays mostpowerful computers.This could change the face of our information age dramatically.

Source: www.ska.ac.za Compiled by ERNA VAN WYK. Graphic: RUDI LOUW

What is KAT-7?

The KAT-7 precursor array is being usedas an engineering and science prototype,and to develop systems for MeerKAT.

The Kat-7 near Carnarvon in the Northern Cape.

The KAT-7 is an important engineeringtest-bed for technologies and systemsfor MeerKAT, but will also do science.

Consisting ofseven dishes,KAT-7 isalready upand runningon the spotwhereMeerKAT,and later theSKA, will bebuilt in theKaroo.

An artists impression of the MeerKAT.

What is MeerKAT?

This is what the SKAlayout of antennae willlook like from the sky.

How will the SKAwork?

It will detect electromag-netic radiation (radiowaves) and cosmic raysemitted by extremelydistant celestial objects,such as stars and galaxies.

Once completed, the SKAwill be 50 times moresensitive and 10 000times faster than the bestradio telescopes of today.

How will the SKAwork?

It will detect electromag-netic radiation (radiowaves) and cosmic raysemitted by extremelydistant celestial objects,such as stars and galaxies.

Once completed, the SKAwill be 50 times moresensitive and 10 000times faster than the bestradio telescopes of today.

100

100

95%

3 000

3 000km

2024

What is the SKA?The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is a giant radio telescope.