Construction of the world's biggest telescope is underway

On Monday, the construction phase of one of the major scientific initiatives of the twenty-first century gets underway.

When finished in 2028, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be the biggest radio telescope ever built.


The facility, which is divided between South Africa and Australia and has a headquarters in the UK, will tackle the most important astrophysical topics.

At ceremonies taking place in the remote Murchison shire of Western Australia and the Karoo of South Africa's Northern Cape, representatives from the eight nations leading the project are present.

The initial ten years were spent creating the theories and concepts. The creation of the technique took up the next ten minutes. The following ten years were then spent on precise design, site security, and persuading states to establish a treaty organisation.