a2 p. n+ l/ H9 b' G6 Q- _The 'colossal' radio telescope that can see more of the universe than ever before (and could even find alien life)
Australia Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder is made up of with an array of 36 antennas each 12 meters (40 feet) across
is also the first building block in the world's largest telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) which will be based in both Australia and South Africa
v( i" u X4 m! o$ {" OIn the remote Australian outback, scientists have launched the world's fastest radio ! p4 t8 y; ~& U3 i. T. C4 P8 W
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telescope which will exponentially increase astronomers' ability to survey the universe, mapping black holes and shedding new light on the origins of galaxies. 9 O7 r5 ]' B3 X- q/ h0 atvb now,tvbnow,bttvb公仔箱論壇6 { {. L4 B' Z4 @
The Australia Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), with an array of 36 antennas each 12 meters (40 feet) across, started peering into the universe on Friday from a far-flung cattle station in Western Australia state.# f8 I) |4 c6 @' B
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The £96m ($155.18 million) telescope will 'listen' to radio waves from the cosmos that might give astronomers insights into the beginnings of the universe.公仔箱論壇* ]! O+ U" u# G# ^9 ~$ }) U / X9 i$ B0 ~% J/ v4 M% aOn its first day in full operation, ASKAP will collect more data than is currently contained in all current radio astronomy archives or the U.S. Library of Congress. 9 `/ l8 P/ F; @- O# M K 2 i# ^) h8 t/ U, ^3 [, qos.tvboxnow.com'Radio waves tell us unique things about the cosmos, about the gas from which stars were formed, and about exotic objects, pulsars and quasars, that really push the boundaries of our knowledge of the physical laws in the universe,' Brian Boyle, the director of the project at Australia's national scientific research organization, told reporters this week. 5 r9 F2 j# k* N1 h1 TTVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。 / d* a9 x: q! p$ O- kos.tvboxnow.comThe ASKAP telescope is located in the Shire of Murchison, an area of 50,000 square kms (19,300 square miles), or the size of Costa Rica, with barely 120 people. 0 T( g# R x" J- E' r- R0 E公仔箱論壇公仔箱論壇 M- n) S5 b$ h( q
The location is ideal because it is 'radio quiet', or lacks man-made radio signals that would interfere with the antennas picking up astronomical radio signals. 9 e# O0 `% _) R% r4 `os.tvboxnow.comos.tvboxnow.com3 i( `& u! {# s, e; Z; \4 {7 O/ s3 B- w
Using new 'radio cameras' called phased array feeds, the telescope will be able scan the sky much more rapidly than existing radio telescopes and will give the telescope a field of view about 150 times the area of the full Moon. - l m$ t1 H$ I, hos.tvboxnow.com 2 T/ \* ^7 `" j( Y! Ntvb now,tvbnow,bttvbASKAP is also the first building block in the world's largest telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) which will be based in both Australia and South Africa. 3 T# X$ j0 b/ Z# t1 [tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb % d) s Q) |# y4 e+ Gtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbASKAP is also the first building block in the world's largest telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) which will be based in both Australia and South Africa. " ` B9 {" }# E( x9 ]' y$ a公仔箱論壇0 q& ^; z7 Q( \9 v! ] X
Construction of the SKA will begin in 2016 and Australia will add another 60 antennas to its current 36 as part of the project. 3 ^7 @9 z a9 l8 y5 H) y7 dTVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。The ability of the ASKAP telescope to scan so much of the universe will generate immense amounts of data. , j4 D% k8 K9 b, W2 _' h3 D# s; t; Ctvb now,tvbnow,bttvb/ \) L& x$ e0 O7 L; M7 r
On its first day in full operation, ASKAP will collect more data than is currently contained in all current radio astronomy archives or the U.S. Library of Congress. f8 o# y4 X/ O0 w( K, g5 l4 ?" B
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Using existing radio telescopes, an image of Centaurus A, the closest galaxy to earth with a black hole, would have required some 400 images, two years of observation, and 10,000 hours of computer time. - P. s* }" A0 ^. k X" i5 [
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The ASKAP will take a mere two images and five minutes of observation and computer time. # X* p% x+ e1 v% _+ sTVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。ASKAP is already fully booked for the next five years with scientists from all over the world using it for research. " g' P! C. }" r$ C% _: k ( B' H' t+ H; v- w7 b0 KTVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。Some of the first areas of enquiry will include a census of all galaxies within two billion light years, which may shed light on how the Milky Way was formed.os.tvboxnow.com; b# {% r/ R2 F 6 @4 ?6 e3 E3 m5 }# ?
One of the antenna of the Australian SKA Pathfinder telescope.8 n9 d- V0 W* b
( ~" D8 R e% L( mos.tvboxnow.comAnother research project will look for black holes, which astronomers think may be the seeds of galaxies. 6 W1 L* ], M4 K9 L# }8 ]% Gos.tvboxnow.com 4 }+ p1 f, B; r7 \( S& FThe radio telescope will also probe objects such as pulsars, which Boyle described as 'balls of star stuff that are so tightly packed together that a teaspoonful would weigh more than the mass of humanity'. 2 u7 D! S0 @" Stvb now,tvbnow,bttvb公仔箱論壇8 g: ?# N% j) ^+ I! o
But will the telescope be looking for extra terrestrial life?公仔箱論壇4 W. B0 l$ z/ T# M7 m; d# {
'It's not a primary of many of these surveys, but it's certainly a secondary goal that you almost get for free,' Boyle said. 9 Z5 \- F- n& f/ g2 N% ATVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。7 m5 b4 k( a+ B' U
'As you're surveying the sky, particularly over wide areas of sky looking for objects, you are also increasing the search volume for signals from extraterrestrial life.' 0 l! X( V$ @% C. CTVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。os.tvboxnow.com8 N x- Q& ?5 x: q6 R" w
The Australia Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), with an array of 36 antennas each 12 meters (40 feet) across.TVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。. b) w2 \' U9 Y3 m! m( R( n9 u! H: u
os.tvboxnow.com4 d; I5 U$ }# s0 k4 C' P8 M ; _/ z4 `0 T& \5 f4 iThe telescope will also search for alien life, although that is not its primary purpose. 3 L$ ]; n. F: q, Xtvb now,tvbnow,bttvb J( ? R" d' V: }) [3 tTVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。, q4 L$ a, ^; @! v r/ g8 L9 K7 w' U