Work begins on world’s most powerful radio telescope

This week, work begins on the next phase of development for the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope, with the University of Cambridge leading major 'work packages'. We are thrilled to be able to build on the decades of expertise we have in the University to contribute to the SKA project - Paul Alexander The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is likely to revolutionise our understanding of the Universe - as it will be able to detect radio waves with unprecedented sensitivity and image fidelity - and could help unravel some of the biggest mysteries in the Universe such as the role of dark energy and dark matter. Even in its earliest phase (SKA1), the radio telescope will be the fastest and most sensitive in the world. SKA1 is now entering the "detailed design" stage, in which design work and concept selection will be done. The SKA1 observatory will consist of three world-beating instruments. A total of 250 dishes will work as one machine in South Africa's Karoo desert to detect mid-range radio frequencies. A further two instruments will be in the Western Australian desert: one being an array of many hundreds of aerial clusters working at low radio frequencies, the other a range of around 90 dishes - each equipped with a 'Phase Array Feed' to expand the field of view.