So who won?
Everyone is saying it’s spiffing news, terrific news, a great and terrible thing going forward they are saying but how much of the whole thing have we got, a half, a quarter or just a sop?
I’ve listened to News Radio all morning and no one is addressing how this thing is going to be broken up, it’s a secret apparently.
The news just reports the utility of the project for finding ETI.
http://www.sciencewa.net.au/topics/space/item/1439-ska-telescope-to-be-shared
AUSTRALIA, New Zealand and South Africa will share of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, the world’s most powerful and sensitive radio telescope, the International SKA Organisation announced today.
The majority of SKA dishes in Phase 1 will be built in South Africa, combined with MeerKAT.
Further SKA dishes will be added to the ASKAP array in Australia. All the dishes and the mid frequency aperture arrays for Phase II of the SKA will be built in Southern Africa while the low frequency aperture array antennas for Phase I and II will be built in Australia / New Zealand.
The ASKAP and MeerKAT precursor dishes will be incorporated into Phase I of the SKA which will deliver more science and will maximise on investments already made by both Australia and South Africa.
The majority of the SKA organisation were in favour of a dual-site implementation model for SKA.
The members noted the report from the SKA Site Advisory Committee that both sites were well suited to hosting the SKA and that the report provided justification for the relative advantages and disadvantages of both locations, but that they identified Southern Africa as the preferred site.
The members also received advice from the working group set up to look at dual site options.
The distribution of the three antenna types across the two countries will allow the SKA to cover 70MHz to 10GHz frequencies continuously.
Director of Perth-based International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), Peter Quinn, says that the decision would reinforce the project’s global cooperative focus.
“As an International centre, we’re eager to continue our work with colleagues in Africa and the rest of the world to build the SKA and use it to explore the Universe in 10,000 times more detail than ever before,” Peter Quinn says.
The long awaited announcement from the International SKA Organisation’s eight member countries comes after a report on the feasibility of the split by a specially formed Site Options Working Group (SOWG).
Factors taken into account during the site selection process included levels of radio frequency interference, the long term sustainability of a radio quiet zone, the physical characteristics of the site, long distance data network connectivity, the operating and infrastructure costs as well as the political and working environment.
South Africa—with the backing of eight other African countries—vied for the project against a joint Australia-New Zealand bid to host the €1.5-billion ($2-billion) telescope.
The two countries already have precursory projects underway on their respective sites, the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and Murchison Wide Field array—the only low-frequency precursor to the SKA—and South Africa’s Karoo Array Telescope (MeerKAT), both which will act as important test-beds for SKA technology.
go back in chat a couple of pages. i was talking to arts about it.
ok.. so the SAfrica and WA parts won’t be connected… which means they have to ‘jigsaw’ the data? or they will do different jobs in the same patch of sky?
they can look at the same patch but, probably, not at the same time. they will be able to look at different aspects of the same thing because they utilise different frequencies. like looking at the sun in infra red and ultraviolet. this is an example and not what they will actually do of course and the frequencies are a lot lower.
plus we, as in western australians, get a damn good supercomputer at uwa to handle the data. we are talking gigabytes a second data rates here and 200 000 teraflops processing. huuuuuuuuge.
in that case why don’t they just dot these things arll aournd the world and have a cube kilometre array?
one of the reasons is that you need the arrays to be able to see the same patch of sky at the same time. this makes the telescopes aperture, the bit it “sees with” the size of the distance between the sites. this increases the sensitivity and the resolution, the smallest object it can discern. so oz and nz are close enough to do this. plus there are dishes in the east of oz that can be utikised to fill the gap. dunno about west oz and s africa being able to unite. one reason why the telescopes will operate on different frequencies. this wont matter if they can’t be hooked up.
>>plus we, as in western australians, get a damn good supercomputer at uwa to handle the data. we are talking gigabytes a second data rates here and 200 000 teraflops processing. huuuuuuuuge.
Thanks Boris, is it a Dell?
What Mr buffy wants to know is…..all that radiation…..is this a conspiracy to wipe out Australia, NZ and SA? He says he saw “The Wives of FuManchu”……..
(And what I want to know is…..how will the anti-wind farmers cope with this one, on top of their dose of ‘infrasound”?)
The supercomputer is being built at Como
>>The news just reports the utility of the project for finding ETI.
Yes they were all over that on the radio this morning, we’re going to find a lot more Aliens now apparently.
Thanks Boris, is it a Dell?
it’s a Babbage
What Mr buffy wants to know is…..all that radiation…..is this a conspiracy to wipe out Australia, NZ and SA? He says he saw “The Wives of FuManchu”……..
that radiation is already impinging on the earth, we’ll just be detecting it.
(And what I want to know is…..how will the anti-wind farmers cope with this one, on top of their dose of ‘infrasound”?)
it is miles and kilometres from people. people interfere with the antennas what with there noisy (electrically) cars and mobile phones and radio transmitters etc.
Peak Warming Man said:
>>The news just reports the utility of the project for finding ETI.Yes they were all over that on the radio this morning, we’re going to find a lot more Aliens now apparently.
Up to 10 times as many, I believe.
Yes, I know that…..but do they?
(I met one yesterday. Did you know the ‘infrasound’ lands 2km away from the tower?)
Up to 10 times as many, I believe.
turn back the spaceships i say otherwise we’ll be up to are arses in little green men.
Did you know the ‘infrasound’ lands 2km away from the tower?)
good grief.
buffy said:
What Mr buffy wants to know is…..all that radiation…..is this a conspiracy to wipe out Australia, NZ and SA? He says he saw “The Wives of FuManchu”……..
(And what I want to know is…..how will the anti-wind farmers cope with this one, on top of their dose of ‘infrasound”?)
It’s more a case of some exploration geos and small miners being cross about the radio-communications / noise exclusion zone which incorporates some mining tenements.
Peak Warming Man said:
>>The news just reports the utility of the project for finding ETI.Yes they were all over that on the radio this morning, we’re going to find a lot more Aliens now apparently.
I hope the Daily Mail UK Online Edition reports this ..
morrie said:
Peak Warming Man said:
>>The news just reports the utility of the project for finding ETI.Yes they were all over that on the radio this morning, we’re going to find a lot more Aliens now apparently.
Up to 10 times as many, I believe.
I’m taking notes for the Daily Mail Uk ONline Edition special Report.
>plus we, as in western australians, get a damn good supercomputer at uwa to handle the data. we are talking gigabytes a second data rates here and 200 000 teraflops processing. huuuuuuuuge.
This is the bit that I’m interested in and I couldn’t see anything in any of the NEWS reports. Is it a given that the supercomputer centre will be in Perth?
Is it a given that the supercomputer centre will be in Perth?
como apparently. UWA i believe. i haven’t heard to the contrary. anyway.
>UWA i believe.
That would be good. Mainly because I may get my finger in the pie if I play my cards right :)
I did an installation over at the UWA Physics department back in ’88 or ’89. It was summer and my company didn’t understand why the job was taking so long.
They hadn’t seen the girls who wandered around the UWA coffee shops :)
i have a chat to a mate in the radio astronomy dept to put a good word in for you then. we’ll have a pudd when you come over.
>i have a chat to a mate in the radio astronomy dept to put a good word in for you then.
If I do get any involvement it would be in designing the data centre. What happens after that is black magic as far as I’m concerned.
Boris said:
Is it a given that the supercomputer centre will be in Perth?como apparently. UWA i believe. i haven’t heard to the contrary. anyway.
Boris said:
Is it a given that the supercomputer centre will be in Perth?como apparently. UWA i believe. i haven’t heard to the contrary. anyway.
It’s in Bentley’s technology park. They’ve knocked down all the pines (some were already dead, some were used as food and roost trees for Carnabys cockatoos), have brought in and leveled mounds of sand and I guess will start pouring foundations soon.
http://www.ivec.org/news/2011-06/state-government-takes-158million-step-towards-supercomputer-perth
Science and Innovation Minister John Day today announced the State Government would provide $15.8 million over four years to iVEC’s Pawsey Supercomputing Centre, headquartered at Technology Park, Bentley.
Mr Day made the announcement at the official launch of the iVEC@Murdoch Supercomputer – the first stage in the Pawsey Centre Project.
The Minister said this funding would enable iVEC to attract supercomputing expertise to the State and help to build WA’s reputation as a science, technology and innovation hub.
“The State Government takes a strategic approach to research and development investment to ensure that funding delivers tangible benefits to the State,” he said.
“iVEC is an example of a facility whose infrastructure is shared by many disciplines and institutions in order to expand the State’s knowledge base and that’s why the State Government has strongly supported iVEC since its establishment in 2000.
“I am pleased to announce that the Western Australian Government has allocated a further $15.8million over four years to fund the highly skilled workforce required to operate the infrastructure at iVEC’s Pawsey Centre.
“iVEC@Murdoch, the first of three supercomputers forming the Pawsey Centre Project which is managed by iVEC, will provide an immediate boost to the Australian Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Pathfinder project and further strengthen Australia’s bid to host the SKA.”
When complete, the combined supercomputing resources of the Pawsey Centre are expected to rank in the top 20 global supercomputing facilities and support the needs of the Australian radio astronomy, nanotechnology, biotechnology and informatics research communities.
Mr Day said building expertise in supercomputing and supporting world-class infrastructure like that of the Pawsey Centre would position WA as a world leader in this field.
“The opportunity to host such world-class facilities and scientific expertise will allow the State to build a strong knowledge economy and showcase the science, research and technology capabilities that we have here in WA,” he said.
“With continued support from the State Government, iVEC’s Pawsey Centre will provide ground breaking resources and technologies to many diverse disciplines of science.”
For more information on iVEC: http://www.ivec.org/about-ivec
neomyrtus_ said:
Boris said:
Is it a given that the supercomputer centre will be in Perth?como apparently. UWA i believe. i haven’t heard to the contrary. anyway.
It’s in Bentley’s technology park. They’ve knocked down all the pines (some were already dead, some were used as food and roost trees for Carnabys cockatoos), have brought in and leveled mounds of sand and I guess will start pouring foundations soon.
My old stamping ground.Those cockies dropped the odd pine cone onto the windscreens of the cars in the car park, smashing them to bits. You had to be careful where you parked in the season.
morrie said:
neomyrtus_ said:
Boris said:
Is it a given that the supercomputer centre will be in Perth?como apparently. UWA i believe. i haven’t heard to the contrary. anyway.
It’s in Bentley’s technology park. They’ve knocked down all the pines (some were already dead, some were used as food and roost trees for Carnabys cockatoos), have brought in and leveled mounds of sand and I guess will start pouring foundations soon.
My old stamping ground.Those cockies dropped the odd pine cone onto the windscreens of the cars in the car park, smashing them to bits. You had to be careful where you parked in the season.
where do all the cockatoos eat? long time passing..
roughbarked said:
morrie said:
neomyrtus_ said:It’s in Bentley’s technology park. They’ve knocked down all the pines (some were already dead, some were used as food and roost trees for Carnabys cockatoos), have brought in and leveled mounds of sand and I guess will start pouring foundations soon.
My old stamping ground.Those cockies dropped the odd pine cone onto the windscreens of the cars in the car park, smashing them to bits. You had to be careful where you parked in the season.
where do all the cockatoos eat? long time passing..
There has been a bit of a shortage of food for the cockies. There was a very bad season for marri blossom and so few honky nuts, which are one of the staples. This year was better.
There were large pine plantations around Perth, but much of them have been cut down to make way for suburbs. There are many left though. And I suppose they are an introduced thing anyway when you think about it.
hardly a mention of et on the channel 9 news here just now. beauty. good to see.