Germany has become an official member of the SKAO
Another milestone for German radio astronomy has been reached: Germany has been admitted as the twelfth member of the international astronomy organisation SKA Observatory
The German Federal Research Minister, Bettina Stark-Watzinger, had already announced the upcoming accession of Germany during her visit to one of the SKAO’s telescope sites, in South Africa Northern Cape, in March 2023. Now it is official: Germany has joined the SKAO, which is building the next generation of radio telescopes.
The German Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger explains: "There is still much to discover and explore in our universe. As the world's largest radio telescope arrays, the SKAO super telescopes in South Africa and Australia will revolutionize our understanding of the universe in the coming decades. By Germany joining the SKAO, we are enabling researchers from Germany to be right at the forefront. During my visit to South Africa in March last year, I was able to see the enormous potential of the radio telescope for science. SKAO will deliver data in unprecedented quantity and complexity and thus contribute to the development of new methods of data mining, for example, which will be used far beyond basic physics. Basic research will become a technology driver here. Our research institutions such as the Max Planck Society, universities and the German Center for Astrophysics in Lusatia will also benefit from all of this."
For more than 30 years, various stakeholders in Germany and beyond have been planning, developing and negotiating to become part of the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO).
"It has been a long and not always easy road that has led us to this important milestone for the entire radio astronomy community in Germany. This significant moment is thus particularly gratifying for everyone involved and we would like to thank the Minister and the BMBF for their support," says Prof. Michael Kramer, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in Bonn.
Over the past decades, the MPIfR has played an active role in the design of the SKAO and its telescopes and has developed key technologies with unique benefits for science. Among other things, the institute is playing a key role in the extension of South Africa’s MeerKAT telescope. The 14 MeerKAT+ antennas currently under construction will initially complement the 64 existing antennas operated by SARAO before being integrated into the SKA-Mid telescope in the coming years.
"Even before officially joining, Germany has shown great commitment to the development of the SKAO. The Max Planck Society is looking forward to further cooperation and the results that this major international project will deliver," states the President of the Max Planck Society, Prof. Patrick Cramer.
Together with OHB Digital Connect GmbH and the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, the MPIfR has built a prototype antenna for the SKA-Mid telescope in South Africa for technical commissioning and scientific use. The first measurements have already confirmed the expected data quality as well as the excellent capabilities of the telescope and promise unique scientific research results and answers to fundamental astronomical questions.
In future, the data generated by the SKAO are to be bundled and processed at supercomputer facilities dotted around the SKAO members. In Germany, this will take place at the German Center for Astrophysics (DZA), which is currently being built in Görlitz in Lusatia, as part of the European Data Center.
"The amount of data that the SKAO will generate is comparable to the data volume of the entire Internet. The DZA is looking forward to the challenge of working with the international SKAO partners to ensure that this huge data is used efficiently," explains Prof. Stefan Wagner, head of the Astrophysics Department at the DZA. The development, construction and networking of the required data infrastructure will be coordinated and supported by the DZA and the Association for Data-Intensive Radio Astronomy (VdR).
Prof. Frank Bertoldi, first chairman of the VdR, adds: "Participation in the SKAO challenges German radio astronomy and requires close cooperation between all those involved. The VdR is looking forward to supporting the institutions and their scientists in conducting cutting-edge research with the SKAO."
As the first official act of its SKAO membership, Germany will host the next SKAO Science Conference, which will take place at the DZA site in Görlitz from June 16 to 20, 2025.
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Further Informations
SKAO: The SKAO, formally known as the SKA Observatory, is an intergovernmental organisation composed of Member States from five continents and headquartered in the UK. Its mission is to build and operate cutting-edge radio telescopes to transform our understanding of the Universe, and deliver benefits to society through global collaboration and innovation.Its two telescopes, each composed of hundreds of dishes and thousands of antennas, will be constructed in South Africa and Australia and be the two most advanced radio telescopes on Earth. A later expansion is envisioned in both countries and other African partner countries.
Together with other state-of-the-art research facilities, the SKAO’s telescopes will explore the unknown frontiers of science and deepen our understanding of key processes, including the formation and evolution of galaxies, fundamental physics in extreme environments and the origins of life. Through the development of innovative technologies and its contribution to addressing societal challenges, the SKAO will play its part to address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and deliver significant benefits across its membership and beyond.
The SKAO recognises and acknowledges the Indigenous peoples and cultures that have traditionally lived on the lands on which the SKAO facilities are located.
MeerKAT: Built and operated by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), the MeerKAT telescope with 64 antennas is the largest radio telescope in the southern hemisphere and one of two SKA precursor instruments. The radio telescope, located in the Karoo region, will soon be supplemented by an additional number of antennas as part of the "MeerKAT+" project, which will be jointly funded by SARAO and the Max Planck Society (MPG) in Germany from 2019 and with the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) from 2020. The DZA will also participate and create additional technical and scientific opportunities. The telescope will later be gradually integrated into SKAO's mid-telescope in South Africa.
VdR: The Association for Data-Intensive Radio Astronomy (VdR) pools national research and development expertise in the field of data-intensive radio astronomy. In the era of a new generation of highly sensitive telescopes (such as LOFAR, MeerKAT, SKAO), radio astronomy is facing challenges that require close cooperation between those involved at national level. The extensive and complex data volumes from these telescopes require the development of new processing and analysis technologies in the fields of big data and machine learning. The association coordinates and supports the scientific, organizational and technical aspects for the development, construction and networking of the data infrastructure required for the use of data-intensive radio telescopes.
Wissenschaftlicher Ansprechpartner:
Prof. Dr. Michael Kramer
Head of Research Dept. “Fundamental Physics in Radio Astronomy”
Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn
Fon: +49 228 525-299 (Sekretariat)
E-mail: mkramer@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
Dr. Hans-Rainer Klöckner
SKAMPI Project Scientist
Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn
Fon: +49 228 525-338
E-mail: hkloeckner@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
Viola Tegethoff
Research Advisor
Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn
Fon: +49 228 525-495
E-mail: vtegethoff@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
Weitere Informationen:
https://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/announcements/2024/7
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