BBC:
The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) uses
36 antennae that are each 12 m in diameter. The $155 million
telescope, which was built at the Murchison Radio-astronomy
Observatory in the Western Australian desert, will take its
first pictures today. While not an exceptionally large
telescope, ASKAP makes use of new technology that allows it to
scan the sky more quickly than existing telescopes. Its remote
location limits the interference of manmade radio signals. John
O'Sullivan of Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and
Industrial Research Organisation says that the telescope will
provide valuable research into early galaxy formation and the
hunt for black holes. ASKAP is planned to be part of a larger
multisite telescope called the Square Kilometre Array, which
will have locations in Australia, New Zealand, and South
Africa.
