The Square Kilometre Array

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is intended as the next-generation radio telescope and will address fundamental questions in astrophysics, physics, and astrobiology. The international science community has developed a set of Key Science Programs: (1) Emerging from the Dark Ages and the Epoch of Reionization, (2) Galaxy Evolution, Cosmology, and Dark Energy, (3) The Origin and Evolution of Cosmic Magnetism, (4) Strong Field Tests of Gravity Using Pulsars and Black Holes, and (5) The Cradle of Life/Astrobiology. In addition, there is a design philosophy of "exploration of the unknown," in which the objective is to keep the design as flexible as possible to allow for future discoveries. Both a significant challenge and opportunity for the SKA is to obtain a significantly wider field of view than has been obtained with radio telescopes traditionally. Given the breadth of coverage of cosmic magnetism and galaxy evolution in this conference, I highlight some of the opportunities that an expanded field of view will present for other Key Science Programs.Comment: 8 pages; invited presentation at the Panoramic Radio Astronomy conference, Groningen, The Netherlands; 2009 June 2--

An Overview of the Square Kilometre Array

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be the premier instrument to study radiation at centimetre and metre wavelengths from the cosmos, and in particular hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe. The SKA will probe the dawn of galaxy formation as well as allow advances in many other areas of astronomy, such as fundamental physics, astrobiology and cosmology. Phase 1, which will be about 10% of the full SKA collecting area, will be built in Australia and South Africa. This paper describes the key science drivers of the SKA, provides an update on recent SKA Organisation activities and summarises the baseline design for Phase 1.Comment: Proceedings of the SKA Science Workshop in East-Asia, Nagoya, Japan, 5 - 7 June 201

Lunar University Network for Astrophysics Research: Comprehensive Report to The NASA Lunar Science Institute. March 1, 2012

The Lunar University Network for Astrophysics Research (LUNAR) is a team of researchers and students at leading universities, NASA centers, and federal research laboratories undertaking investigations aimed at using the Moon as a platform for space science. LUNAR research includes Lunar Interior Physics & Gravitation using Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR), Low Frequency Cosmology and Astrophysics (LFCA), Planetary Science and the Lunar Ionosphere, Radio Heliophysics, and Exploration Science. The LUNAR team is exploring technologies that are likely to have a dual purpose, serving both exploration and science. There is a certain degree of commonality in much of LUNAR’s research. Specifically, the technology development for a lunar radio telescope involves elements from LFCA, Heliophysics, Exploration Science, and Planetary Science; similarly the drilling technology developed for LLR applies broadly to both Exploration and Lunar Science