An international group of scientists led by the University of Cambridge has finished designing the ‘brain’ of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the world’s largest radio telescope. When complete, the SKA will enable astronomers to monitor the sky in unprecedented detail and survey the entire sky much faster than any system currently in existence.
The ‘world’s largest IT project’ — a system with the power of one hundred million home computers — may help to unravel many of the mysteries of our universe: how it began, how it developed and whether humanity is alone in the cosmos.
Big data has captured the world’s attention, with talk of a new Industrial Revolution based on information, and of data being one of the 21st century’s most valuable commodities. Today, we commence a month-long focus on research that uses, produces and interrogates huge datasets.
The University of Cambridge is to be one of the five universities that will lead the new Alan Turing Institute, announced the Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills today.
This week, work begins on the next phase of development for the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope, with the University of Cambridge leading major ‘work packages’.
Advances in telescope technology being developed at Cambridge will drive a revolutionary period of discovery in astronomy.
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