Exploring the universe with the world's largest radio telescope (Free Astronomy Public Lectures)

Presented on 4 December 2015 by Dr Lisa Harvey-Smith. What is Dark Matter? How did the solar system form? Was Einstein right about the nature of gravity? Are we alone in the universe? To tackle these fascinating questions and more, an international consortium of eleven nations is currently designing the 'Square Kilometre Array' (SKA) telescope. Comprising thousands of radio receivers located in Africa and Australia, the SKA will be the world's most powerful radio telescope. It will revolutionise our understanding of the universe, from the first stars and galaxies formed after the Big Bang to the formation of planet Earth. In preparation for this mega-science project, the CSIRO has built the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope which is due to start early science operations next year. In this talk, CSIRO astronomer Dr. Lisa Harvey-Smith will reveal early results from ASKAP, explain the science and technology behind the telescope and describe many scientific mysteries it will tackle.