[ASA] Update on SKA activities in Australia

Thu Dec 19 14:41:49 AEDT 2024

One role of the Australian SKA Science Advisory Committee is to keep the Australian astronomical community informed on SKA matters, via on-line SKA Community Briefings and written updates.

End-of-year update on SKA activities in Australia

It has been a hive of activity this year on the SKA-Low site at Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory. Stations, each of 256 log-periodic dipole antennas, are being installed along the telescope's southern spiral arm. Clearing and trenching works continue on the northern and eastern spiral arms, while the telescope's "core" is taking shape.

In August, the first images from a complete station were captured and turned into a movie of the Galaxy rising and setting over the course of a day. In September, "first fringes" were obtained between two stations, confirming that the SKA-Low is working as an interferometer. This month, the first detection of known pulsars with an SKA-Low station were made as part of commissioning activities. The first four stations that make up Aperture Array 0.5 (AA0.5) are currently undergoing system integration in preparation for testing as a four-element interferometer next year.

[cid:image001.png at 01DB5223.46C721B0]
A cluster of six stations, each of 256 SKA-Low antennas, on the southern spiral arm.

In South Africa, the main structure of one SKA-Mid dish has been completed, two more are under construction, and three more are on site awaiting assembly.  We look forward to the first on-sky test results from these antennas next year.

The Australian SKA Regional Centre, AusSRC, has had a year of growth, focused on expanding its team and resources to further enhance support for the SKA science community. Looking towards next year, AusSRC is planning to advance its development efforts, build upon existing prototypes, and enable more efficient research from a wider range of SKA precursor projects. Anyone interested in AusSRC support should submit an EoI (https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/rr77Cr81nytDLzxnzC7fQI4SvFE?domain=aussrc.org ).

The SKA project is also resulting in a range of the non-astronomy benefits, including: the value of contracts awarded to Australian businesses; the recognition of the SKA as an Official Closing the Gap Partnership; the employment of 26 Wajarri and 15 non Wajarri Indigenous staff on the site as of November; the growth of Wajarri Enterprise Limited to 42 employees, and its recent recognition as the Aboriginal Business of the Year at the Midwest Business Awards. The latest issue of Contact, the SKAO Magazine, includes the story behind the artwork Our Home, presented by Wajarri artist Susan Merry to SKAO Director-General Phil Diamond in July.

Our SKA precursors, the MWA and ASKAP, have had productive years. The MWA consortium has grown with the addition of a group of institutions from Switzerland, and good progress has been made with the MWA Phase III receiver upgrade. ASKAP observing efficiency and processing speed have both improved in all science modes, and the first Guest Science Projects have also been undertaken.

The annual Radio School for PhD students, ECRs and others, was held in Geraldton this year. Hosted by ICRAR, CSIRO and SKAO, presentations included introductions to radio-astronomy and interferometry, with several talks focussed on SKA science and operations. A highlight of the week was the day trip to the SKA-Low, MWA and ASKAP telescope sites.

The SKAO featured prominently at the IAU General Assembly in Cape Town in August, and recent commissioning results were presented at the Science at Low Frequencies meeting in Shanghai earlier this month.  The ESO-SKA meeting held last week in WA on "Cosmic Ecosystems in Radio & Optical" was well-attended by Australian and overseas researchers from both the radio and optical communities, providing the opportunity to consider synergies in, and in the lead-up to, the SKA era.

The 2025 SKAO General Science Meeting, "A new era in Astrophysics: Preparing for early science with the SKAO", will be held from 16-20 June in Görlitz, Germany. The meeting will bring together scientists from around the world to discuss and collaborate on the cutting-edge science opportunities that the SKAO will provide in its early years of operations. Online participation will also be supported. Abstract submission has now opened, with a deadline of 7 February: https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/NHHBCvl1rKiyMPvLPhXh0IQiqoH?domain=skao.int

With best wishes for the festive season,
Phil Edwards, for the Australian SKA Science Advisory Committee

We acknowledge the Wajarri Yamaji as the Traditional Owners and Native Title Holders of the observatory site, where the SKA-Low telescope is being built.
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