Year 9 & 10 Science: Third Rock from the Sun: Square Kilometre Array Project

CSIRO site explaining how radio telescopes detect and amplify radio waves from space, turning them into signals that astronomers use to enhance our understanding of the Universe.

Explanation of how the Australian SKA telescope works.

How the South African SKA telescope works.

The observatory has a global footprint and consists of the SKAO Global Headquarters in the UK, the SKAO’s two telescopes at radio-quiet sites in South Africa and Australia, and associated facilities to support the operations of the telescopes.

The SKA is a global project to build the world’s largest and most capable radio telescopes. They will be hosted in Australia and South Africa.

SKA-Mid, an array of 197 traditional dish antennas, is being built in South Africa's Karoo region, while SKA-Low, an array of 131,072 smaller tree-like antennas, is being built in Western Australia on the traditional lands of the Wajarri Yamaji. The arrays will both be spread across large distances, with the most distant antennas being separated by 150km in South Africa, and 65km in Australia.

Interview with an SKAO Scientist, exploring what the SKA project hopes to achieve, how SKA telescopes compare to others, and what the telescopes at both sites will do.