The Square Kilometre Array

Abstract

The Square Kilometre Array is a global project to develop the next generation radio telescope at metre to centimetre wavelengths. It will have a collecting area of order one million square metres, a sensitivity 100 times higher than the extended VLA, an instantaneous field of view (FOV) larger than the full moon, and, in some designs, more than one FOV allowing multiple simultaneous use. It will be an extremely powerful survey telescope with the capability to follow up individual objects with high angular and time resolution. The SKA will reach a point source sensitivity of 25 nano-Jy in 1 hour of integration, and a maximum resolution of better than 1 milli-arcsecond at 20 GHz with excellent imaging over several orders of magnitude at any given frequency. The SKA science reach will be enormous, allowing new discoveries in astroparticle physics and cosmology, fundamental physics, galactic and extragalactic astronomy, and solar system science. Technological innovation, closely paralleling commercial IT developments, is key to the design concepts under investigation and to the cost goal of USD 1000/m². The selection of technologies for the SKA is scheduled in early 2008. A number of possible locations for the telescope are under investigation with a choice scheduled in early 2006. Construction of the array will take most of the next decade.