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A new paper, led by ASKAP lead scientist, Aidan Hotan, describes the system
design and capabilities of the Australian Square Kilometre Array
Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope at the conclusion of its
construction project and commencement of science operations. ASKAP is
one of the first radio telescopes to deploy phased array feed (PAF)
technology on a large scale, giving it an instantaneous field of view
that covers 31 square degrees at 800 MHz. As a two-dimensional array
of 36x12m antennas, with baselines ranging from 22m to 6km, ASKAP also
has excellent snapshot imaging capability and 10 arcsecond
resolution. This, combined with 288 MHz of instantaneous bandwidth and
a unique third axis of rotation on each antenna, gives ASKAP the
capability to create high dynamic range images of large sky areas very
quickly. It is an excellent telescope for surveys between 700 MHz and
1800 MHz and is expected to facilitate great advances in our
understanding of galaxy formation, cosmology and radio transients
while opening new parameter space for discovery of the unknown.
The paper has been published in Publications of the Astronomical
Society of Australia.
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