The announcement this week of the commencement of on-site construction
activity for both SKA-Low in Australia and SKA-Mid in South Africa was
celebrated with ceremonies at the SKA sites in both countries. The
SKA-Mid telescope will incorporate the dishes of the existing MeerKAT
telescope. MeerKAT currently consists of sixty-four 13.5m dishes,
with a maximum baseline of 8km. The MeerKAT extension project, in
collaboration with Germany and Italy, will add a further 16 dishes and extend
the maximum baseline to 17km. MeerKAT will be incorporated into
SKA-Mid only towards the end of its construction in 2027. (Image
credit: SARAO)
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