19 July 2012
The Murchison Widefield Array and the path to the Square Kilometre Array
The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is one of only three Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Precursor telescopes, an array of 128 low frequency antennas being built in the radio quiet Murchison region of Western Australia.
An SKA Precursor is a science and technology demonstrator for the SKA, planned as a multi-billion dollar radio telescope designed to study outstanding problems in fundamental physics. The MWA is the only low frequency Precursor and the first Precursor to be operational for science in 2013.
The science goals of the MWA include:
- early Universe cosmology;
- studies of our Galaxy and other galaxies;
- the search for explosive events in the Universe; and
- studies of the Sun and the Sun - Earth connection.
In this presentation Professor Tingay will describe the MWA project and its science goals. He will then go on to describe the MWA's place within the context of the SKA project and the recently announced SKA site decision that endorsed Australia as the location for the full scope of the low frequency component of the SKA.
Event details
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Title: |
The Murchison Widefield Array and the path to the Square Kilometre Array: new windows on the universe and Fundamental Physics |
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Person: |
Professor Steven Tingay |
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Date: |
2012-08-03 |
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Time: |
3.30 pm – 5.30 pm |
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Location: |
RMIT City campus |
Further details
RSVP
Free event.
Please RSVP by Friday 27 July to Ms Sarah Gordon
About the Presenter
Professor Steven Tingay is Director of the Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy at Curtin University, Deputy Director of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, and Director of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) project. Professor Tingay has authored or co-authored over 100 papers in international refereed journals since 1994 and has attracted over $40m of research funding.
His main interests are in radio astronomy, astrophysics and radio astronomy instrumentation. Over the last ten years, Professor Tingay has led the development of software and hardware that has upgraded Australia's suite of radio telescope facilities. He currently leads the MWA project, a $50m low-frequency radio telescope currently under construction in the remote Murchison region of Western Australia.
The MWA is a Precursor for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). Tingay has been an active contributor to the international SKA project for the last decade.