Construction commences on what will be the world’s biggest telescope
We’ll soon be able to take a much deeper look into space.
Construction has now begun on the Square Kilometre Array, also known as the SKA.
Once completed, the SKA will be the largest telescope in the world and help answer the biggest questions in astrophysics.
The telescope will be split across South Africa and Australia, with a base in the United Kingdom.
There are currently eight countries involved, including South Africa, Australia, the UK, China, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland. These countries have all ratified the treaty.
France, Spain, and Germany are next in-line, with Canada, India, Sweden, South Korea and Japan all indicating their intention to join.
It will run some of the most precise tests of Einstein’s theories and search for extra-terrestrials.
In 2024, four dishes in Australia and six antenna stations in South Africa will be switched on to form a basic telescope.
By 2028, the SKA will cover an area spanning 500,000 square metres.
The regions it’s being built in are already being used for radio astronomy, just on a smaller scale.
The program has already come in at a cost of around €500m, with an expected total budget of €2bn.
