In its summer solstice update to its members, the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA) provided an update on the Square Kilometre Array Observatory.
The scientific update follows the Announcement in early June that Canada officially joined the Square Kilometer Array Observatory as a member.
The Square Kilometre Array Observatory consists of two radio telescopes located at radio-quiet sites in South Africa and Australia.
CASCA Scientific Update
With the investment Canada will get approximately “6% share in use “This will provide the community with significant access to SKA observing time and computing resources.”
CASCA says key scientific milestones expected include:
- Scientific verification data of scientifically competitive matrices (Matrix set 2 = AA2) by the end of 2027;
- Observations from the principal investigator (PI) of shared risk with the AA* delivery in stages installations by the end of 2028; and
- The start of major Key Scientific Observation Programmes (KSP) in 2030.
CASCA reports that a new SKA advisory committee has been created with participation from all participating organizations in Canada.
With Canada’s membership, CASCA reports that “the Canadian SKA Scientist Program continues to develop, with a first call for applications expected in fall 2024. At steady state, this new, permanent program will support a total of 8 to 10 NRC-funded SKA Scientists across Canadian universities.”
You can read the full update at CASCA website.
