Free Download: SKA Book “Advancing Astrophysics with the Square Kilometre Array”
Today SKA Organisation is releasing the new official SKA science book, Advancing Astrophysics with the Square Kilometre Array. The book contains the proceedings from the SKA science conference held in Giardini Naxos, Sicily last year.
The two-volume book contains 135 chapters written by 1,213 contributors from 31 nationalities, adding up to some 2000 pages covering many areas of astrophysics, from cosmology to the search for life in the Universe.
“The publication of the new SKA science book is the culmination of more than a year’s work by the SKA science team and the scientific community at large” said Dr. Robert Braun, the SKA Science Director. “It’s also a great testimony to the growing interest and scope of the SKA since the publication of the last book 10 years ago.”
The last SKA science book, Science with the Square Kilometre Array, was published in 2004.
The chapters in the new SKA science book reflect the large breadth of science to be undertaken with the SKA, including among others, cosmology and the study of dark matter and dark energy; the search for life in the Universe through the study of molecules in forming planetary systems and the search for potential radio signals from intelligent civilisations; looking back at the cosmic dawn – the first billion years – of the Universe and the apparition of the first stars to study the distribution of hydrogen; mapping the thousands of pulsars in our galaxy; looking for gravitational waves and monitoring the sun’s activity, as well as synergies with other major astronomical facilities such as ALMA, ELTs, LSST, and supporting science from future space missions such as ESA’s Gaia and Euclid missions.
A limited number of hard copies of the book will be distributed to scientific and governmental institutes. The electronic version in PDF format can be downloaded on the SKA website in the books section. Individual chapters are available for download on the Proceedings of Science website.
About the SKA
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project is an international effort to build the world’s largest radio telescope, led by SKA Organisation. The SKA will conduct transformational science to improve our understanding of the Universe and the laws of fundamental physics, monitoring the sky in unprecedented detail and mapping it hundreds of times faster than any current facility.
The SKA is not a single telescope, but a collection of telescopes or instruments, called an array, to be spread over long distances. The SKA is to be constructed in two phases: Phase 1 (called SKA1) in South Africa and Australia; Phase 2 (called SKA2) expanding into other African countries, with the component in Australia also being expanded.
Already supported by 10 member countries – Australia, Canada, China, India, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom – SKA Organisation has brought together some of the world’s finest scientists, engineers and policy makers and more than 100 companies and research institutions across 20 countries in the design and development of the telescope. Construction of the SKA is set to start in 2018, with early science observations in 2020.
Contact
William Garnier
SKA Organisation Communications and Outreach Manager
Email: w.garnier@skatelescope.org
Mobile: +44 7814 908932
Landline: +44 161 306 9613
