* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Square Kilometre Array

Blobrana · L

Mauritius will be among the countries which have been chosen to host part of the biggest radio-telescope which will be erected in Australia and South Africa, APA learns in the Mauritian capital Port Louis.
The radio-telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will allow astronomers to study the formation of the universe at its beginning, the emergence of the first stars, galaxies and structures.

Source

Blobrana · L

South Africa gears up for giant telescope facility
South Africa's National Research Foundation (NRF), is finalising plans to set up the largest radio telescope centre for the southern Hemisphere.
Robert Kriger, the foundation's director for policy and strategic planning. said in an interview yesterday that an area of about 100 square kilometres has been secured near Colesberg town in the Orange Free State for the purpose.

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Blobrana · L

South Africas bid to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) in the Northern Cape province has been given a tremendous boost, with new legislation that would ensure globally important astronomy facilities were protected from developments that might interfere with their research.

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Blobrana · L

Les scientifiques et les ingénieurs du monde entier, réunis en Australie la semaine dernière (7 - 11 avril), ont lancé la phase préparatoire du plus grand projet mondial de radioastronomie. Cet instrument international, SKA, aura une sensibilité 50 fois supérieure à celle des dispositifs existants. Il devrait permettre d'apporter des éléments de réponse aux grandes questions que l'on se pose sur l'Univers, de la recherche d'exoplanètes de type Terre avec des possibilités de développement de la vie, jusqu'aux tests des théories de la gravitation et la détermination de la nature de l'énergie noire. Les équipes françaises (Observatoire de Paris, Université d'Orléans, CNRS-INSU) seront particulièrement impliquées dans le traitement du signal visant à l'élimination des interférences radio et dans la conception de circuits intégrés.
Source

www.jb.man.ac.uk/public/im/SKA.html

Blobrana · L

Transnet, the state transport utility, has belatedly objected to the Astronomy Geographic Advantage Bill. The draft law will declare a portion of the Northern Cape a radio frequency (RF) reserve to clear the way for the 1.3 billion euro Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope.
A site for the SKA, and its precursor, the Meerkat, has been identified to the northwest of Carnarvon, in the Northern Cape. The Bill, when it becomes law, will allow science and technology minister Mosibudi Mangena to declare the site a protected area.

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Blobrana · L

Jodrell Bank observatory in Cheshire is to become the headquarters of a global plan to co-ordinate the next generation of radio telescopes.
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be 50 times more sensitive than the current most powerful radio telescope.
Thousands of antennae will be placed in either Australia or South Africa, and will be co-ordinated via the centre. Construction is due to begin in 2012.

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Blobrana · L

Space experts from Manchester are leading the way in a £1.1bn quest to discover if there is life in outer space.
Academics at Manchester University are at the forefront of a programme building a radio telescope which will be 200 times bigger and 100,000 times more powerful than Jodrell Bank.

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Blobrana · L

Industry has warned the science and technology department that its plans to create a radio-quiet zone around the proposed site of the $1bn Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope could have costly and unintended consequences.
South Africa is competing with Australia to host the SKA, which will be the worlds most powerful radio telescope.
It hopes to build the telescope on a remote farm near Carnarvon in Northern Cape, and has drafted the Astronomy Geographic Advantage Bill to protect the site from radio interference.

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Blobrana · L

South Africa plans to be both home to the world' largest radio telescope and one of its constructors, Science and Technology Minister Mosibudi Mangena said on Friday.
In the Science and Technology Department budget vote debate in the National Assembly, Mangena said R500-million had been allocated for the project.

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