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DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS
15 January, 2024
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India had decided to formally join the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, an international scientific collaboration working to build the world’s largest radio telescope.
What is SKA?
SKA – It will be the world's biggest and most advanced radio telescope ever constructed.
SKA Observatory Convention – The international treaty that established the facility as an intergovernmental organisation.
Objective – To create 1 square kilometre of effective area for collecting radio waves using radio telescopes.
Mission – To build and operate cutting-edge radio telescopes to transform our understanding of the Universe, and deliver benefits to society through global collaboration and innovation.
Headquarters– United Kingdom (UK)
Implementation – By installing 1000’s of smaller antennas in a specific array design that would make them function like a single radio telescope.
Budget – USD 2.4-billion project
Distribution of antennas – About 200 of them in South Africa and more than 130,000 in Australia.
In SKA Observatory, the South African array will focus on mid-frequency signals, while the Australian telescope will cover low-frequency ranges.
How does it work?
Advantage – Unlike optical telescopes, radio telescopes can be used even in cloudy skies, as the longer wavelengths can pass through clouds unhindered.
Radio astronomy has led us to some amazing astronomical discoveries, such as pulsars, exoplanets and the cosmic microwave background (a remnant signal left over from The Big Bang).
What is the role of India in SKA?
Indian participation – India has been involved in the SKA project right from its inception in the 1990s.
India’s contribution – In design and development of the telescope and the main contribution has come in the development, and operation, of the Telescope Manager, the ‘neural network’ or the software that will run the entire facility.
Benefits – Though none of the SKA facilities would be located in India, there are immense science and technology gains to the Indian scientific community.
Most existing telescopes operate under an open-use policy which allows research groups from any country to get time on the facility through competitive bidding by making a scientific case.
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