NEWS: The first SKA-Mid dish is taking shape in South Africa 🎉🇿🇦! Last Thursday we carried out the "big lift" of the 15-m-wide main reflector, alongside our partners SARAO - South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, and China's CETC54 🇨🇳. This is one of four dishes that will mark the first stage of SKA-Mid delivery. “There’s a lot of work ahead of us, but for everyone involved, this is a special moment that represents years of toil by people all over the world, so I want to thank them for their dedication in getting us here,” said SKA-Mid Senior Project Manager Ben Lewis. Read the full announcement: https://loom.ly/oLP5zRQ #collaboration #astronomy The National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF) Power Construction (Pty) Ltd
SKA Observatory
Space Research and Technology
Macclesfield, Cheshire 10,215 followers
We build and operate cutting-edge radio telescopes to transform our understanding of the Universe and benefit society.
About us
The SKA Observatory is a next-generation radio astronomy driven Big Data facility that will revolutionise our understanding of the Universe and the laws of fundamental physics. Enabled by cutting-edge technology, and bringing together some of the best scientists, engineers and policymakers from more than 20 countries worldwide, it promises to have a major impact on society, in science and beyond. The SKAO is a global collaboration of Member States. Headquartered in the UK, at the historic Jodrell Bank Observatory - a UNESCO World Heritage Site - the SKAO's two telescope arrays will be constructed in Australia and South Africa, and be the two most advanced radio telescope networks on Earth. Together with other state-of-the-art research facilities, the SKAO’s telescopes will explore the unknown frontiers of science and deepen our understanding of key processes, including the formation and evolution of galaxies, fundamental physics in extreme environments and the origins of life. Through the development of innovative technologies and its contribution to addressing societal challenges, the SKAO will play its part to address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and deliver significant benefits across its membership and beyond.
- Website
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http://www.skao.int
External link for SKA Observatory
- Industry
- Space Research and Technology
- Company size
- 51-200 employees
- Headquarters
- Macclesfield, Cheshire
- Type
- Nonprofit
- Founded
- 2021
- Specialties
- astronomy, engineering, project management, and science
Locations
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Primary
Get directions
Jodrell Bank, Lower Withington
Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 9FT, GB
Employees at SKA Observatory
Updates
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�� Watch the assembly of the first SKA-Mid dish on site in South Africa! Last week's "big lift" of the 24-tonne main reflector marked another milestone on our construction journey. What happens next? SKA-Mid Site Construction Director Tracy Cheetham tells us that more components will be installed on the dish in the coming weeks, starting with the feed indexer. “As a team we are now totally focused on the next stage of activities because we have already got two more dish structures on site, ready for assembly," she says. "This is a complex environment, with many variables, but we are in a strong position to proceed with the next steps." #construction #teamwork SARAO - South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, Department of Science and Innovation, The National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF)
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This week we were delighted to welcome representatives from the Wajarri Yamaji People to our global HQ in the UK, supported by our partner CSIRO. The SKA-Low telescope sits on Wajarri Yamaji Country in Western Australia, and the visit, coinciding with Australia's #NAIDOC2024, was an opportunity to share culture and heritage with us, including through valuable and affecting training for HQ staff on cultural awareness. Wajarri artist Susan Merry and Wajarri Yamaji Group liaison officer Jennylyn Hamlett gifted the SKAO Council a painting which includes handprints from Council members, made during their first visit to Australia last year. Susan’s painting "Our Home" represents the beauty of the land with its rich, red soil and wildflowers, the coming together that happens on Country and the radio antennas now calling Wajarri Yamaji Country home across Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory. Learn more about this important partnership: https://loom.ly/fCYFrPc
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What's it like to be an engineer working on the SKA telescopes? We recently chatted to #TeamSKA engineers based across our host countries 🇦🇺🇿🇦🇬🇧 to find out! Read about their career journeys and how their work will have an impact beyond the SKA project. 🔗 https://loom.ly/ieXLDJ8 #engineering #WomenInSTEM CSIRO SARAO - South African Radio Astronomy Observatory Women's Engineering Society
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Happy International #Pride Day! Did you know equality and diversity feature in the preamble to the SKA Observatory Convention, our founding document? #TeamSKA's different experiences and ideas help us to tackle some of the toughest challenges in science and engineering, and we're committed to making the SKAO a welcoming and inclusive place where everyone feels they belong. Learn more about our values: https://loom.ly/yJCzhJ4 #equality #diversity #inclusion #EDI
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We were pleased to be part of this ministerial visit hosted by our partner ICRAR (International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research) in Australia, where SKA-Low Lead Commissioning Scientist George Heald spoke about the SKAO. The visit reflects how science and international collaboration go hand-in-hand, which is at the heart of our global project.
ICRAR was honoured to host a delegation from China last week, led by the Minister of Science and Technology. It was wonderful to see such strong recognition of ICRAR’s participation in ACAMAR – Australia and China’s flagship collaboration in astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology – co-chaired by our own Lister Staveley-Smith. We look forward to continued collaboration and shared discoveries in years to come!
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✨ Save the date! ✨ We're excited to announce the next SKAO General Science Meeting will take place 16-20 June 2025 in Görlitz, Germany 🇩🇪. The meeting, which is aimed at professionals across the astronomy community, will also kick off work on a new version of our science book, Advancing Astrophysics. Stay tuned for further announcements later this year! #Meeting #Event
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SKA Observatory reposted this
The team at SKA-Low come from all sorts of interesting backgrounds! Space engineer Angela Teale is one of our inspiring leaders, based in Geraldton, who is working with CSIRO and SKA Observatory to bring the SKA-Low telescope to life. #INWED24 #EnhancedByEngineering #WomenInSTEM
Written in the stars. ⭐ When Angela Teale moved from the United States to Geraldton in Western Australia she thought she'd have to give up on working on space-related projects. But the SKA-Low telescope, which we're partnering with the SKA Observatory to build and operate at Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, our Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory on Wajarri Yamaji Country, changed all that. The space engineer is now SKA-Low's Head of Engineering Operations. She's leading the team that is building, and will eventually maintain, the antennas and components that make up the SKA-Low telescope. Meet Angela: https://lnkd.in/gJYZ3Uza
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We've been marking International Women in Engineering Day across our host countries 🇦🇺🇿🇦🇬🇧. To wrap up a great day, meet Jayashree Roy 🇮🇳, Signal Processing Engineer at SKAO Global Headquarters. Jayashree tells us about her passion for practical science, her time with our partner the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics and how her skills are helping to build the SKA telescopes! Read the interview: https://loom.ly/AlUCFJg #INWED24 #EnhancedByEngineering #WomenInSTEM
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Our globe-spanning International Women in Engineering Day celebrations have reached our global HQ in the UK 🇬🇧. Here we meet Dr Alice Pellegrini 🇮🇹, SKAO Radio Frequency Antenna Domain Specialist, who tells us how her love of numbers and hands-on work led to a career in engineering. Read the interview: https://loom.ly/GhE6x8o #INWED24 #EnhancedByEngineering #WomenInSTEM