ASKAP provides Australian and international astronomers with a world-leading radio astronomy instrument. It is operated by CSIRO as part of the Australia Telescope National Facility along with Murriyang, the 64-metre Parkes radio telescope, the Australia Telescope Compact Array near Narrabri, the 22-metre Mopra telescope near Coonabarabran in NSW, and the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex in the ACT. ASKAP may also form part of Australia’s Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) network in the future.

ASKAP is an SKA-precursor telescope, and its technologies and research discoveries have helped us realise and outline plans for the development of the SKA both in Australia and South Africa. The majority of ASKAP observing time is currently committed to nine Survey Science Projects (SSPs) but a small fraction of time is available for Guest Science Projects (see below). Papers relating to these projects and ASKAP technologies are available on the ASKAP Publications page, with research data available on CASDA. The information below is a list of references and resources for people who are using ASKAP in their research.

Guest Science Projects and Target of Opportunity

While the majority of ASKAP observing time will be used for approved large Survey Science Projects, some time is available for Guest Science Projects (GSPs) – scientifically-interesting projects of a modest scale that do not fit easily within the large surveys. From May 2023 GSP proposals may be submitted as for the other ATNF facilities, using the OPAL online submission system. At present up to 150 hours per semester can be allocated to GSP projects. Requests for time up to this full amount of 150 hours can be considered, if merited. The ATNF may consider increasing the allocation to GSPs should the subscription rate of good quality proposals justify this. For further guidance on submitting a proposal, check the ASKAP section of the ATNF Telescope Status/Availability page.

Requests for modest amounts of time may also be considered under the Target of Opportunity mechanism for time-critical observations or for commissioning tests. Refer to the ASKAP Guidelines for requesting non-SSP observing time and the links therein for further information.

User and Publications Policy

In October 2009, the ASKAP User Policy was completed after extensive consultation with the general astronomy community and endorsement by CSIRO’s SKA Taskforce. Some minor changes and additional context have since been added. An ASKAP Publication Policy has also been prepared for authors of papers using ASKAP data.  See the ASKAP User Policy for details.

The ASKAP Publication Policy provides guidelines to ASKAP users and staff on all ASKAP publications, including scientific results, design information, new capabilities and performance measurements. The policy applies to all stages of the ASKAP project, from commissioning up to and including the observations with the full-scope ASKAP array.

Technical Specifications and Sensitivities

Details of ASKAP’s expected system parameters, survey speed and sensitivities can be found on the ASKAP Specifications page.

The paper Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder: I. system description, published in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 2021, describes the design, operation and performance of the completed instrument.

Configuration

Details of the array configuration for ASKAP can be found on the ASKAP Array Configuration page.

Communications

The ASKAP Update is a regular publication dedicated to conveying the latest news about ASKAP, particularly for users.

The ASKAP News headlines announcements and related media of more general interest.

The ASKAP Survey Science Confluence page is an up-to-date source of information and documents aimed at telescope users and ASKAP staff (requires CSIRO Nexus or PUMA access).

Follow @CSIRO_ATNF on Twitter for exciting astronomy content and see what the telescope is up to on our ASKAP Live page.

Further Information