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The Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), a radio telescope located in the outback of Western Australia, mapped galaxies in just 300 hours, or 12.5 days. This is a significant increase over previous surveys, which took years.
The result is a new atlas of the universe, according to Australian science agency CSIRO, which developed and operated the telescope.
“ASKAP is applying the latest in science and technology to age-old questions about the mysteries of the universe and is providing astronomers around the world with new discoveries to solve their challenges,” CSIRO CEO Larry Marshall said in a statement Tuesday.
It marks the first time that ASKAP has been tested in its entirety. The new map covers 83% of the entire sky and shows our galaxies in unprecedented detail.
Scientists also expect to find tens of millions of new galaxies in future ASKAP investigations, said lead author and CSIRO astronomer David McConnell.
Astronomers around the world will be able to use the new data to “explore the unknown and study everything from star formation to how galaxies and their supermassive black holes evolve and interact,” McConnell added.
The first results were published Tuesday in the Astronomical Society of Australia Publications.
ASKAP consists of 36 satellite dishes, which work together to take panoramic photographs of the sky. The high quality of the telescope’s receivers meant that the team only needed to combine 903 images to form a complete map of the sky, compared to previous surveys, which required tens of thousands of images.
The new data will allow astronomers to undertake statistical analyzes of galaxies of large populations, helping their understanding of how the universe has evolved and structured.
“ASKAP is a major technological development that puts our scientists, engineers and industry in the driver’s seat to lead deep space discovery for the next generation,” said Karen Andrews, Australia’s Minister of Industry, Science and Technology. “This new investigation shows that we are ready to take a huge leap forward in the field of radio astronomy.”
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