Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO)

Hear from the team working on Aperture Array Verification System 3 (AAVS3), our final technology demonstrator for the SKA-Low telescope. It's helping us to prepare for the first deployment of SKA-Low stations at the telescope site on Wajarri Yamaji Country in Western Australia.

Meet three members of Team SKA based in our host countries 🇦🇺🇿🇦🇬🇧 who are helping to build the SKA telescopes! International Women in Engineering Day 2023 focuses on safety, one of the SKAO's core values. Hear how our team is embedding a safety culture across the Observatory. In the video: SKA-Mid HSE Manager Michelle Barnard, SKA-Low Head of Engineering Operations Angela Teale, and Product Assurance Engineer Monique Marinus.

Celebrations to mark the start of SKA-Low construction took place on 5 December 2022 at the telescope site, located at Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory on Wajarri Yamaji Country in Western Australia. The ceremony was followed later the same day by celebrations in South Africa to mark the start of SKA-Mid construction.

Guests gathered in South Africa's Karoo region on 5 December 2022 to mark the start of SKA-Mid telescope construction on site. The ceremony followed earlier celebrations in Australia to mark the start of SKA-Low construction.

Stockholm University played host to more than 60 scientists for the National SKA Science Day Sweden on 2 February 2023. The meeting brought together PhD students, postdocs and senior researchers from Chalmers University's Onsala Space Observatory, Stockholm University, Uppsala University and further afield to discuss science possibilities with the SKA telescopes and current research with pathfinder instruments. We spoke to some of them about the importance of the SKA for their work.

Ministers and representatives from SKAO partner countries deliver congratulatory messages to mark the SKA Construction Commencement Ceremonies on 5 December 2022. 00:06-1:31 Australia: Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic 01:31-04:57 South Africa: Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Blade Nzimande 05:00-10:14 China: Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang 10:15-12:06 Italy: Minister of University and Research Anna Maria Bernini 12:07-13:06 The Netherlands: Minister of Education, Culture and Science Robbert Dijkgraaf 13:07-13:51 Switzerland: State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation Martina Hirayama 13:51-16:24 United Kingdom: Minister for Science, Research and Innovation George Freeman 16:24-17:01 Spain: Minister for Science and Innovation Diana Morant 17:01-17:38 France: Director-General for Research and Innovation, Ministry of Higher Education and Research, Claire Giry 17:38-18:19 South Korea: President of Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute Young-Deuk Park

After 18 months of global procurement and construction activities around the world, on 5 December 2022 the SKAO enters a new era by officially marking the start of SKA construction at the telescope sites in Australia and South Africa! Watch our film with contributions from partners across the SKA world who are part of the construction effort.

Hear from some of the attendees at the fourth edition of the Public Awareness of Research Infrastructures (PARI) conference! Science communication is a vital part of the work of research infrastructures, finding innovative ways to connect with the public and explain science in an engaging manner. Organised by the European Association of National Research Facilities (ERF-AISBL) and hosted at SKAO HQ from 18 - 20 July 2022, PARI brought together public relations practitioners, science communicators, educators, and researchers working for and with research infrastructures to exchange best practices and lessons learned in communicating science to the public.

Join us as we unveil our new website!

To celebrate the IAU's Women in Astronomy month and International Women’s Day on 8 March, SKAO astronomers Dr Shari Breen and Dr Philippa Hartley answer questions on SKA science submitted by our followers on Instagram! Our first Ask Me Anything covers SKA science goals, what it’s like to be an astronomer, the search for extra-terrestrial life, and much more!

Prof. Philip Diamond, SKAO Director-General, looks back at 30 years of scientific, engineering and diplomatic milestones that have made the SKA project possible as the green light is given for construction of the SKA telescopes to start. Find out more: http://www.skatelescope.org/news/green-light-for-ska-construction/

Watch our press conference marking the start of construction of the SKA telescopes as our speakers recap the context around the SKA Observatory and what the SKA telescopes will do and members of the media ask questions. Speakers: - Prof. Philip Diamond, SKAO Director-General - Dr Philippa Hartley, Postdoctoral Fellow, - Dr Chiara Ferrari, astronomer and SKAO-France Director - Dr Simon Berry, Head of the DG's Office - Dr Joe McMullin, Deputy DG and Programme Director Find out more: http://www.skatelescope.org/news/green-light-for-ska-construction/

At a historic meeting of its Council on 25 June, the recently formed SKA Observatory (SKAO) saw its Member States approve the start of construction of the SKA telescopes, the two largest and most complex networks of radio telescopes ever built. Hear from SKAO Director-General Prof. Philip Diamond and Chair of the SKAO Council Dr Catherine Cesarsky as they discuss the significance of the decision, and what happens next.

Meet the SKA Observatory. Our mission is to build and operate cutting-edge radio telescopes to transform our understanding of the Universe, and deliver benefits to society through global collaboration and innovation. In April, we unveiled a new brand, after the SKAO officially came into being as an intergovernmental organisation on 15 January 2021. The brand launch signals a new chapter in the SKA Project’s 30-year history, as we prepare to start construction of the two most advanced radio telescope networks on Earth! Executive Producers: SKAO Communications Office Made by the Science Office, part of the Content Matters Group Licence: CC-BY-NC-ND

Dr Catherine Cesarsky, former chair of the SKA Organisation Board of Directors, joined us on International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2021 to introduce herself in her new role as Chair of the SKA Observatory Council. With humour, Dr Cesarsky reflects on her distinguished career as an astronomer, discussing the challenges she faced and how she overcame them, and gives an overview of her role in the SKAO and ambitions for the future.

To mark the UN-declared International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2021, Team SKA Project Scientist Dr Anna Bonaldi spoke to us about the importance of diversity in science!

The SKA Observatory, a new intergovernmental organisation dedicated to radio astronomy, was launched on 4 February 2021 following the first meeting of the Observatory’s Council. Known as SKAO, it is the world’s second intergovernmental organisation to be dedicated to astronomy. Hear from SKAO Council Chair Dr Catherine Cesarsky and SKAO Director-General Prof. Philip Diamond on the significance of the day's events.

Renowned astronomer Prof. Ewine van Dishoeck, President of the International Astronomical Union, delivers a talk on why astronomy is an important part of society and how the IAU is promoting it, as part of the regular Speaker Series for SKAO staff. Astronomy has always had a significant impact on our world. Early cultures identified celestial objects with the gods and took their movement across the sky as prophecies of what was to come. Throughout history humans have looked to the stars to navigate the oceans, to know the time of day and to decide when to plant their crops. In other words: astronomy forms a part of our society that supersedes scientific publications and Big Data. Prof. van Dishoeck talk begins at 08'36", following introductions by SKAO Senior External Relations Policy Officer Thijs Geurts and SKA Director-General Prof. Philip Diamond.

Dr Lourdes Verdes-Montenegro of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC), Coordinator of the Spanish participation in the SKA project, discusses the importance of Open Science.Presentation slides available here: https://tinyurl.com/y3ypq368 Experts from across the SKA world presented a series of talks as part of the Science Digital @UNGA 75 side events in September 2020, focusing on how science can advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Thijs Geurts, Senior External Relations Policy Advisor at the SKA Organisation, discusses how the SKA, as an international scientific collaboration, is a unique tool for Science Diplomacy. Presentation slides available here: https://tinyurl.com/yyjbkz3w Experts from across the SKA world presented a series of talks as part of the Science Digital @UNGA 75 side events in September 2020, focusing on how science can advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).