139 – Dr Michael Brown – The Square Kilometre Array
In this episode, I talk to Dr Michael Brown, the ARC Future Fellow from Monash University, who has been doing work on the planned surveys with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder. He talked to the podcast about the Square Kilometre Array. Topics we discussed included:
– What are the different types of telescopes?
– What type of telescope will the SKA be?
– What are the differences between a large telescope and a telescope array?
– Will the SKA be restricted to a 1 km diameter?
– Why do we need the SKA?
– How is the SKA better than current radio telescopes?
– A background of the Square Kilometre Array project
– What was considered in putting together the SKA project?
– What sites were considered for the SKA?
– What constitutes a suitable site for the SKA?
– What are the Pathfinder projects?
– Where is the Australian Pathfinder being built?
– How does the Pathfinder compare to current radio telescopes?
– What is the difference between the Australian Pathfinder and the South African Pathfinder?
– Why should the SKA be sited in Australia?
– What advantages will having the SKA in Australia bring?
– How big is the SKA location in Australia?
– What are the differences in locating the SKA in Australia versus South Africa?
– What are some of Dr Brown’s personal research interests in the SKA?
– How much scientific data will the SKA provide?
Today’s listener of the day is Genevieve Abbot from Melbourne, Australia
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